


Lilly's Pokemon Saga: Kanto Story

by stay_lucky



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 37,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stay_lucky/pseuds/stay_lucky
Summary: Lilly, a young Pokémon trainer with a big secret, was asked by her friend Ash Ketchum to rescue a severely injured Mewtwo from Cerulean Cave before he is recaptured by Team Rocket. Can she convince him to leave the cave before it's too late? Inspired by elements from both the anime and games.
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

####  Chapter 1: The Cave

“Woah there! Not so fast, kiddo.”

I had just hopped off of Gyarados’ back and onto the small, rocky beach outside of Cerulean Cave. I had walked by it several times, but I was surprised to see that somebody was waiting there at this hour. I sighed impatiently; we were already running a little behind schedule as I noticed the sun quickly beginning to sink lower behind the hills. I didn’t have time for this Ace wannabe’s antics.

“Who are you? Some kind of gatekeeper?”

“I sure am. If you wanna enter this cave, you’re gonna have to battle me first!”

“Mister, we’re in a bit of a hurry. Did someone actually put you here?”

“Officer Jenny herself, actually,” the trainer said indignantly.

Gyarados rumbled in annoyance behind me. “ _Want me to bite his head off?_ _This fool doesn’t know who he’s talking to!_ ”

“Shh,” I said, shooting her a warning glare.

“What’s the rush? Is there something going on here?” he continued, his expression suspicious.

_Crap, this is bad._ “Alright, look,” I dug in my bag for a moment and pulled out my badge book, opening it so that he could see that I had all eight badges and an amulet from the Elite Four. “I already beat the Elite Four, see? I’m a Champion of Kanto!”

“Sorry, rules are rules. There are some pretty strong Pokémon past this point, I’d hate to see anybody get hurt, especially a little—”

“But I just _showed_ you my badges, I’m not a weak trainer!” I protested, holding them closer to his face.

“Oh yeah? How do I know that you didn’t borrow those?”

“My name’s on here,” I huffed, trying not to roll my eyes.

He tossed a Pokéball in the air and caught it again, smirking condescendingly.

“Come on, just battle me!” he taunted.

Gyarados rose higher out of the water behind me, leering at the ace trainer over my head. “ _Trainer, this human is testing my patience!_ ”

I cleared my throat and said, “As much as I would love to put you in your place right now, my Gyarados here is also itching to get inside this cave. And she gets very scary if she doesn’t get what she wants.”

He looked up at her and grimaced slightly. Gyarados growled and slapped the water with her tail in response. “Fine, just go ahead,” he muttered, reluctantly stepping aside.

I held out her Pokéball and she returned as I shouted a quick “thanks!” before running ahead inside. “Be careful in there, girl!” he called after me.

The air in the cave was heavier, and much colder, compared to all other caves I had explored previously. Though we had just walked inside, I was already straining my eyes to see even a few feet in front of me. I withdrew Ampharos from her Pokéball, and she lit up the cave before I had time to ask. But even then, her light did not reach more than a few meters away.

“It seems as though this cave is heavily protected,” Ampharos murmured, stunned.

“I’ve never met a Pokémon that could make caves darker like that,” I agreed, letting out all my other Pokémon. Ninetails, Arbok, Gyarados and Togekiss looked around, though there was not much to see other than rocks and some pools of water. “We’re inside the cave,” I began, addressing them, “but I have no idea where he is. But you guys can see better than I can, so keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might lead us to him.”

We kept close to Ampharos as we walked, nervous about what other surprises might be waiting for us ahead. I could hear some Pokémon scurry out of view when they sensed the light approaching.

Eventually, we came across another shore. It appeared to be an underground lake.

“Gyarados—”

“ _Way ahead of you_ ,” she replied, already entering the murky water.

“Wait, I was going to have Amphy—”

“ _Alright then. Amphy, get up here! We need you up front_ ,” she barked back.

“ _Okay!_ ” Amphy called back cheerfully.

“Hey!” I shouted, trying to get their attention.

My shout echoed throughout the cavern. Ampharos was in the middle of clambering up Gyarados when they both looked back at me.

“You both need to wait for instructions,” I said sternly, “I’m the trainer, here!”

“ _But we already knew—_ ”

I shook my head, “I don’t care! What if something happens because you weren’t waiting for me to give the order? I know you’re both smart and strong Pokémon, but with a situation as dangerous as this we need to have a chain of command. Okay?”

Again, Ampharos enthusiastically shouted, “ _Okay!_ ”

Gyarados was silent for a moment, then she turned around and said, “ _Okay._ ”

“Ninetails, you come back into your ball for now. There won’t be enough room for you. Ampharos, you can get on Gyarados. Arbok, you and I will follow from behind. Togekiss . . .”

I looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. There were plenty of sharp rocks jutting downward, but I trusted Togekiss to dodge them easily.

“Fly close to the water in the back. Okay?”

Togekiss nodded, clearly still startled by my shout.

Arbok slithered into the water behind Gyarados and flattened her head so I could climb onto her. I withdrew Ninetails from the land behind me, and we set off.

We silently moved through the water for quite some time, I imagine it would have been much shorter had we not encountered so many Golbats. I had to yell commands to Ampharos from Arbok’s back as she nimbly fought them off. “Ampharos, any land in sight?” I called after she electrocuted yet another Golbat.

“ _Yes! Just up ahead!_ ” she shouted back toward me.

“Let’s head towards it, we’ll regroup there!”

Once we got to shore, everybody got out of the water except for Gyarados. I let Ninetails out of her Pokéball, and she came to stand by my side. “It looks like there’s another path leading this way.” I said, indicating the stones that seemed to outline a small path through the cave.

“ _Let’sssss follow it and sssssee where it goessss._ ”

I was about to set off, but stopped when I heard a little squeal to my right. I looked in that direction and saw half a Slowpoke’s head protruding from behind a boulder. When he realized that I knew he was there, he was brave enough to come out a little further, but his wide eyes showed that he was completely afraid of us.

 _He seems docile enough,_ I thought suddenly, _maybe he could take us to Mewtwo._

“Excuse me, is there a powerful Pokémon hiding in this cave?” I asked, squatting to talk to him.

Slowpoke came out all the way. I felt my eyes widen in surprise when I saw that the three-foot long tail most Slowpoke usually had on their backsides was missing.

“ _What do you want with Mewtwo?_ ” he asked.

I was startled by how direct he was.

“Well . . . I heard that he’s injured. I was sent by a friend to get him out of here before Team Rocket does. They know where he’s hiding, so it’s not safe for him to stay here anymore.”

“ _Hmm . ._.”

The Pokémon seemed to expect my team and I individually, as if deciding whether or not I was telling the truth.

“ _He will try to kill you, but . . . you seem like strong Pokémon,_ ” he said to my surprise. “ _You won’t go down easily. But protect your human,”_ he added, looking back at me, _“she’s so small._ ”

“We’re not afraid,” I said, hearing Gyarados slap her tail against the cavern wall at those words, “we understand what we’re in for.”

The Slowpoke did not respond but instead continued to inspect my team.

“So . . . do you know where we can find him?” I asked again. “This cave is pretty big, and—”

“I know where Mewtwo is, every Pokémon here does. I’ll help lead you to him, but I sure won’t face him with you!”

“I understand,” I said kindly, “thank you for helping us!”

“If it helps Mewtwo, I sure will,” said the Slowpoke in his humble voice. “He’s not a bad Pokemon, y’know? Just scared is all.” His eyes widened suddenly, “Oh don’t tell him I said that!”

I couldn’t help but smile at his testimony.

He promptly turned around and motioned us to follow with a nod of his head and a flick of his stump.


	2. Chapter 2: A Dead End

####  Chapter 2: A Dead End

As we walked behind the Slowpoke, I thought about the conversation I had with Ash the previous day about this mission. We had a very short amount of time to prepare for it, less than twenty-four hours in fact. At about two in the morning last night, he called me in tears, saying he had just been visited by Mewtwo.

“Wait, the one that almost got you killed?” I had whispered, though nobody was home, “The one made by Team Rocket?”

“Y-yes,” he said in reply, “they found h-him, _hic,_ and they . . . he’s in bad shape, Lilly . . .”

I had told him to hang up and come over. Luckily, he was at his mom’s house, which is next to my Aunt’s, so it was a short trip. We sat down in the living room, and he explained the details of his encounter. In short, Team Rocket was able to locate Mewtwo and set a trap for him, and he barely escaped with his life. He had gone to see Ash immediately after, who tried to convince him to stay, but Mewtwo deemed it too risky as Team Rocket was already aware of their ties. But he did tell Ash that he would seal himself away in Cerulean Cave to stay hidden.

“So . . . he’ll be okay then, right?” I asked, not understanding, “can’t he heal himself?”

“Lilly, there’s . . . blood on my floor,” Ash had whispered, wiping his face, “I don’t know what they did to him, but I think he can’t heal himself. I know they’re looking for him now that he’s like this, Mewtwo won’t make it if we don’t do something.”

I had asked Ash what he needed from me, to which he responded that he wanted me to be the one to get him, adding that it was something he could only trust me to do. To his surprise, I had agreed without hesitation.

“Are you really sure about this?” he had asked for the third time.

“Yes, of course I am!” I had said. “A Pokémon that needs to be rescued from Team Rocket? Why would I say no to something like that?”

“But this isn’t just any Pokémon—”

“Oh, relax! I’ve dealt with some pretty powerful Pokémon back in Hoenn and Jhoto, trust me! Once he battles my Pokémon—”

“Lilly, stop brushing me off, I already know all that!” he had said angrily.

“Fine, then what do you want to say?”

“I’m trying to tell you that Mewtwo isn’t like any Pokémon you’ve ever faced. He doesn’t trust humans. And since he’s dying, he’ll probably do whatever it takes to get you away from him.”

“So? How is that different from—”

“I’m saying that he will definitely try to kill you. He won’t see you as someone who is trying to help him, you’ll be a threat.”

I thought for a moment before saying, “Then, won’t he trust me more if you come with me?”

“You’re not understanding, that’s why I _can’t_ come with you,” he had said, exasperated. “Mewtwo doesn’t want to put me in danger, but even if that didn’t matter . . . he doesn’t listen to anybody when he’s afraid. He’ll tell me that he’s fine, and that he can take care of himself. Believe me, I know.”

“I still think you’re worrying too much,” I said, picking up my duffel bag off the ground and slinging it over my shoulder, “I know this isn’t my team from Hoenn, but these guys have definitely seen some tough battles. They can handle it.”

To my surprise, he took me by the shoulders and brought his face very close to mine. “I _know_ you’re a good trainer, and I know you have captured Legendary Pokémon before. But none of that matters, it’s going to take so much more than that to pull this off. The only reason I’m asking you to do this is because of your . . . you know . . .”

I had shrugged out of his grasp and put my hands on my hips. “So that’s it, then? Are you saying my team isn’t good enough to take him?”  
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said flatly, “nobody’s team is good enough to take him on, he’s that powerful.”

“I ought to make you eat your words right now!” I had objected.

“I’m just worried. I really care about Mewtwo, and I want him to be safe. But risking your life or the lives of your Pokémon isn’t worth it to me,” he said nervously.

“Ash I promise, it’ll be okay!” I had insisted, “We’ll all come back in one piece.”

“You’re absolutely sure that you can get—”

“I told you, he came out for Rayquaza when I needed him. If for some reason my Pokémon are all knocked out, which I doubt will happen, I know that he’ll be able to defeat Mewtwo for sure.”

Ash looked at the ground. “I just hope that you’re right.”

We followed the Slowpoke for what felt like hours. Pokémon watched us pass by, but most did not approach us. The ones that were actually brave enough to do so, Gyarados was able to scare off by simply baring her teeth.

As I watched the Slowpoke walk, looking at its stumpy tail fanned the flames of my curiosity to the point where I simply had to ask how he lost it.

“Slowpoke, what happened to your tail?” I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible.

“ _Team Rocket_ ,” he growled to himself, kicking a rock as we walked.

“ _They came here?_ ” Togkiss asked, surprised.

“ _Many years ago. I was one of the few they managed to catch . . . I was a little one, see_.”

“ _You mean, they couldn’t catch all of you?_ ” Ninetails clarified.

“ _Most of the Slowpoke here were strong enough to fight them off, by now . . . they are no longer Slowpoke_.”

I thought for a second, then said, “Oh, wait . . . that means you can’t evolve!”

“ _A Shelder can’t latch onto my tail, so I’ll never be able to become a Slowbro_.”

“I wish there was something I could do,” I said sympathetically.

“ _I’m afraid there’s nothing_ ,” he sighed sadly, “ _I shall be a tailless Slowpoke for the rest of my days._ ”

“Where are we, by the way?” I asked, suddenly realizing that it had become even darker.

“ _Nearly there . . . yup, here we are_.”

“Huh?” I could feel that there was something powerful ahead, but . . .

We were at a dead end.

“There’s . . . just a wall here,” I laughed nervously.

“ _This used to be an entrance to another part of the cave, but he sealed himself off inside._ ”

I sighed. “I was hoping we could get to him more quietly than blasting through a rock wall,” I half muttered to myself.

As I said that, I could already see Arbok readying her tail. “No, Arbok, we need to try to be quieter,” I said quickly.

“ _Why? He musssssst already know that we’re here_ _by now_ ,” she said.

“I . . . yeah, I guess you’ve got a point,” I admitted.

“ _Only Mewtwo can open it with his power_ ,” the Slowpoke chirped suddenly.

I turned to look at him and asked, “Have you seen him do it?”

“ _Yup, he just presses his hand to the wall—_ ”

“Like this?” I asked, doing just that.

“ _Yup._ ”

“Okay . . .”

I waited a moment, but nothing happened.

“Arceus,” I whispered, “help me open up this door.”

Still nothing.

I sighed again, lowering my hand from the wall.

“ _Wait, what were you trying to do?_ ” the Slowpoke asked, bewildered.

I ignored the question, feeling frustrated with myself.

“Go ahead, Arbok.” I said without looking at her, gesturing toward the wall, “Knock her down.”

She looked at me in surprise. “ _If he said only Mewtwo can open it, what makesssss you think I can?_!” she hissed indignantly.

“ _Lilly, is Arceus going to respond if we need help after we enter his lair?_ ” Togekiss asked, concerned.

“I don’t know!” I shouted, frustrated, “I thought he would understand that I need him for this, but . . .”

“It’s alright,” Ninetails said suddenly.

I looked at her, trying to keep the tears of frustration in my eyes.

“ _We can do this, with or without Arceus. We’ve never needed him to help us catch a Pokémon before, right_?” she continued, addressing all of us this time.

They nodded in agreement.

“E-everybody . . .” I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked at the wall again. “Arbok and Gyarados, you guys are up.”

“ _We have to do this swiftly, or else we’ll have more problems than just Mewtwo_ ,” Gyarados said, looking up at the ceiling of the cave.

She was right. I hadn’t thought about the cave itself coming down.

“Okay, then we’ll try three times,” I agreed.

Arbok and Gyarados positioned themselves next to the wall, their tails pulled back at the ready.

“One . . . two . . . three!”

On three, they let out a cry and swung their tails at the wall. The sound it created bounced off the walls and kicked up a cloud of dust, but once it settled, we could see that it had no effect at all on the rock.

I said “again,” but when I looked, they already had their tails in the position.

“One, two, three!”

They swung again. The ground shook violently from the resulting vibration. I held onto Ninetails to steady myself. But the wall still stood, without a single crack.

“Maybe we should—”

“ _No! One more time, I’ve got it this time_ ,” Gyarados insisted, her tail already pulled back.

“ _Gyaradossss, the whole cave could come down_ ,” Arbok warned.

“ _She said three times, didn’t she?_ ” Gyarados growled at her.

“ _You can do it then, I’m not gonna be resssponsssible for bringing thissss cave down on top of usssss_ ,” Arbok said nonchalantly.

“ _Fine_ ,” Gyarados replied.

She looked back at me and said, “ _On your command, trainer_.”

I hesitated, not sure if this was worth the risk. But the way Gyarados was looking at me told me she was not going to back down from the challenge.

“ _I . . . I think it will take a lot more than Gyarados to make the ceiling fall down,_ ” Slowpoke piped up hesitantly.

“Alright,” I said, looking back at Gyarados.

“One . . .”

She raised her tail even higher.

“Two . . .”

She bared her teeth at the cave wall, as if it were a Pokémon she was battling.

“Three!”

Gyarados let out a fearsome cry before she threw tail with all her might at the cave wall.


	3. Chapter 3: What Are You?

####  Chapter 3: What Are You?

Before I could process what happened, Ninetails had pushed me out of the way as Gyarados’ long body toppled over and nearly crushed the both of us. I laid on the ground for a moment, coughing from the dust her fall kicked up. “Gyarados? Are you okay?!” I shouted, trying to see where she fell.

“ _That bastard . . ._ ” I heard her growl as she began to pull herself upright, “ _you think you’re funny, don’t you?_ ”

“ _What happened?_ ” Ampharos asked as she came to my side and helped me off the ground.

As the dust settled, I saw that Gyarados was already up again, studying the completely in-tact cave wall in front of her. “ _Trainer,_ ” she barked suddenly.

“Y-yes?” I jumped.

“ _Go try to touch the wall again._ ”

I looked at her like she had sprouted another head and asked, “What?”

“ _Go touch it._ ”

I obliged and slowly approached the cave wall with one hand outstretched. Instead of feeling solid rock under my palm, I gasped in shock and nearly fell inside when my entire hand disappeared into the wall.

“ _Isssssss it open?_ ” Arbok asked uncertainly, tilting her head to one side.

“I think so?” I murmured, swinging my hand behind the wall. The air felt even colder than it did out here.

Togekiss flew by my head and glided along the wall, the wing closest to it also disappearing. “ _By the looks of it, Mewtwo opened an entrance when Gyarados was about to swing again,_ ” he concluded, landing by my side.

“ _I knew it, that jerk!_ ” Gyarados snarled, slapping her tail against the ground in fury.

“ _Huh?! It’s really open?_ ” Slowpoke asked, dumbfounded.

“It sure seems like it,” I replied, not daring to take my hand out of the wall in case it closed again.

I turned around to look at my team as I said, “Remember, he’s very injured, so we’re going to try to persuade him first. Fighting is our last resort . . .” I looked directly at Gyarados when I asked, “Got it?” My team grunted in agreement. “Okay. Then let’s hurry in!” 

One by one they passed through the wall. Gyarados was the last of them to slither through, as soon as she disappeared Slowpoke said, “I sure hope you all come back out in one piece.”

“We have to,” I said confidently, “there’s no other option.” I saw Slowpoke give a tiny nod before I face forward, squared my shoulders, and followed my team into the wall. 

When I entered the room on the other side, it was as though I had become completely blind. I stumbled into what felt like Arbok’s scaly skin and held on tightly, terrified by the unnatural darkness surrounding us. “ _Everybody, stay close_ ,” Gyarados growled nearby.

There was no sound at all aside from my team and I breathing together. “A-Ampharos, give us some light please,” I said quietly. I knew she must have heard me, but nothing changed. “Ampharos, use flash!” I said again. This time I heard her cry out loudly in response. The sound of electricity crackling was deafening, yet I could not see any of it. “Why won’t your tail light?” I whispered urgently.

“ _I’m trying my best_ ,” she said, out of breath, “ _but this place has lots of protection around it. My tail won’t get any brighter than this!_ ” 

“ _I feel it, too,_ ” I heard Togekiss say warily, “ _can you not also sense it, Lilly?_ ”

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply for a moment, noticing that Ampharos was right. I could practically feel the air tingle with the psychic energy that surrounded us. “Mewtwo has to be somewhere around here, then,” I affirmed, my words shaking slightly.

“Who goes there?!” a deep, alarming voice boomed throughout the cave.

I yelped in surprise when I heard the voice and accidentally backed into Ninetails, who began to growl. Arbok hissed loudly. _Another person is in here? We must be too late_ , I thought, my pulse skyrocketing. “Who’s there? Are you a Rocket?” I shouted back as Ampharos steadied me with her paws.

There was no response from the voice. “How many more are here?! Show yourselves!” I pressed.

There was another moment of silence, then deep laughter sounded, very distant from where we were standing. “No,” the voice replied at last, quieter than when it first spoke to me, “I am not a member of Team Rocket.”

“Prove it!”

A moment later, two blue lights flashed and disappeared again. They were close enough together that they could have been eyes, but they were certainly larger than those of a human. Gyarados rumbled loudly in warning to whoever was addressing us. 

“You must be Lilly Prescott,” he continued, “child prodigy trainer, and friend of Ashton Ketchum.” The response was unnerving, but not because of what he said. Whoever this was, they sounded almost amused at the fear in my voice.

“Just . . . just how do you know who I am?!” I tried to sound intimidating, but my voice cracked. 

“ _Reveal yourself at once!_ ” Ninetails suddenly demanded, her voice much more aggressive.

“ _Ninetails, don’t be hostile,_ ” Togekiss chirruped quietly to her.

“Yes, I know who you are, and why you have come to this place,” the voice said. “You have no reason to be troubled . . . at the present.”

Though he sounded sincere, I was not reassured. Togekiss alighted on the ground next to me. I heard him spread one of his wings and felt it rest on my shoulder protectively. Ninetails stealthily crept over to my left side and crouched down, her muscles tensing.

“Then, since you know who I am . . . who are you?” I asked again.

The blue lights reappeared. “I . . . am Mewtwo!” he said finally, his voice somehow echoing more impressively than Gyarados’ growl.

My jaw dropped in shock. “Wait . . . y-you’re Mewtwo?”

“Yes,” he said impatiently, the lights vanishing for a millisecond as he blinked. “Are you surprised?”

“I . . . no!” Truthfully, I was not expecting Mewtwo’s voice to sound the way it did at all. He sounded far too human; it was unlike any other Pokémon’s voice I’ve ever heard. Not only that, but he also sounded much calmer than I anticipated for coming across a human that trespassed into his cave. _Then again_ , I remembered, _he’s probably in a lot of pain._

But instead of responding with those words, I said, “You sounded exactly like a human, of course I would have been confused!”

“How ignorant,” he said, clearly trying to insult me, “I can communicate in a language that Pokémon and man alike can comprehend. Do you know about the Pokémon that can understand and speak human tongue?”

“It wasn’t . . .” I had cut myself off, trying not to snap back at his patronizing tone.

Mewtwo chuckled bitterly to himself before he continued, “Of course, I am not a true Pokémon. I am a mere—”

“A clone of Mew. Ash told me all about you,” I interrupted eagerly.

“Did he, now?” The eyes narrowed. “He must have failed to mention that I dislike being interrupted.”

“Ah, s-sorry,” I said sheepishly, “but . . . he also told me that you’re a Pokémon in every other way.”

“Ash is too naive to see that I am not a genuine Pokémon,” he replied coldly.

“A-ah . . .” I said, not sure how else to respond to that.

“However,” his tone softened a little, “he has taught me that I am capable of mercy. He is the reason I did not ambush you and your Pokémon earlier.”

I was unsure if I should express gratitude for this or not. But he did not give me a chance to before his voice darkened again as he continued, “But even so, I will not allow you to take me from this place.”

Togekiss was the only one who seemed disappointed with that statement; I could tell that the rest of my team was eager to shut him up just from their energy. I tried to change the subject by asking, “If you don’t mind, can you let Ampharos light up this room even a little bit?”

“For what reason? Do you fear the darkness?” he asked condescendingly.

“No,” I said defensively, “I just want to be able to see what you look like.”

“ . . . Very well. If it will get you to leave faster.”

A few seconds later, the cave was illuminated from the center. Startled, I blinked a few times, then looked up at the light source. There was a large, blue orb of energy attached to the ceiling, like a concave roof. I stared for a moment, as it was quite beautiful to look at.

“Satisfied?”

I lowered my gaze toward Mewtwo’s voice. “Yes, thank—”

My breath caught in my throat when I saw him hovering close to the ground, under the orb. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he stared at me. I could feel the irritation in his gaze, but I could also sense that he was a little curious. He cautiously glided closer to where we were standing, and I could see him more clearly.

As he approached I could see that Mewtwo was shaped similarly to a human, and at least two feet taller than me, but there were a few key differences. He had only six fingers and toes, three on each limb. Behind his neck there was a cord that connected his head and back together; it started just above his neck and ended between his shoulder blades. His legs started out thick, then immediately thinned after his knee. His skin was a pale, delicate lilac color, and curved elegantly behind him was a tail as dark as Arbok’s violet scales. The eyes that were still staring me down were the same color as his tail, perhaps even darker.

I had not noticed the severity of his gashes and bruises until his gaze shifted to my other Pokémon. It was then that I realized Ash was not kidding when he told me Mewtwo might not survive the next twenty-four hours. His nastiest wound was down the left side of his torso. The flesh was ragged and swollen, probably infected. Although he was doing his best not to show it, even from a distance I could see that he grimaced every few seconds and kept as still as possible. Were he not covered in wounds and grime, I might have thought he was the most beautiful shade of purple I’d ever seen. _He’s been pretty badly hurt . . . maybe we won’t have to fight, after all_ , I thought hopefully to myself.

Mewtwo looked back at me suddenly, his expression shifting from calm to wary. “What . . . are you?” he asked in a cautious tone.

Although it was the second time that day someone had asked me that question, it caught me off guard when it came from him. “Huh?”

“I sensed it from the moment you first walked into the cave. I assumed you had brought a powerful Pokémon with which to defeat me. But . . . it was you all along. I see that after assessing your team,” Mewtwo said cooly, then repeated his question a little slower, “What are you?”

This was not a conversation I expected to have, and I grew a little nervous. “Why should I tell you? You don’t know me,” I said, trying to deflect his question.

It did not work. “Because I wish to know.” He said this like I should have already known it, as if it were obvious.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I said, standing my ground, “but I can’t say.”

“And why not?” Do you have something to hide?” he asked, sounding insulted.

“Well . . . maybe I’ll tell you if you come with us! Want to shake on it?” I asked, holding out my hand.

Mewtwo did not even look at my hand when he responded, “That sounds tempting, but, no.” He turned around and waved his own hand toward the entrance we came in. “As you will not divulge me that information, I have no further inquiries to make. Take your Pokémon and leave.”

“Wait, Mewtwo, you don’t—”

“Oh, you would prefer me to send you all out myself?” he asked, “I am afraid the limits of my powers have been reached, you will have to show yourselves out.”

I came very close to snapping back, but I held it together for Ash’s sake. “No,” I shook my head, “Team Rocket is coming, they’ll be here—”

“I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. I do not need you to take me from here.”

“You can’t fight them like this!” I exclaimed finally, “We just want to help you!”

“ _Sssspeak for yoursssself, he’sssss ssso rude!_ ” Arbok hissed loudly, not caring that Mewtwo heard her.

“You don’t mean that, Arbok,” I turned toward her to say.

“You . . .” I looked toward Mewtwo again. He had turned back around toward us, though his face was still as stoic as ever. “You understood exactly what that Pokémon said?”

“Oh, uh, no,” I said, though I could not hide the stammer, “I . . . it just . . . it sounded like she said something mean.” His eyes narrowed at my lie, but I was determined to not resort to fighting. “Listen, I know I can’t make you want to leave this . . . creepy cave,” I continued carefully, “but I promised Ash that I would get you to safety. I can’t leave without you, he’ll be so upset!”

“My sincerest apologies to Ashton, but I’m staying here. Send my regards for me, will you?” he said with his voice slightly higher in an attempt to imitate me. 

My patience was gone when he responded that way. “So, you’re just going to sit here like some Exeggcute and wait for Team Rocket to find you? You can’t risk another attack, your injuries are pretty bad already,” I replied, an edge beginning to find its way into my voice.

“Again, I do not need to be looked after. The Rockets cannot access this cave. You noticed that I had to open it for you, did you not?”

I was at my wit's end. “Mewtwo, unless you want to be captured again, have your memory wiped clean, and become the mindless criminal Ash told me you were when you were first created, then please—!”

“Begone from here at once,” he said, not waiting for me to finish my sentence. He turned away again and began moving toward the center of the cave. “My patience wears thin. Do not force me to change my mind about attacking, I will not hold back.” 

I practically saw my team preparing for a battle behind me. “Mewtwo, I don’t want to hurt you any more than you already are—”

“Is that . . . a challenge I hear?” he threatened, turning back toward me. The whole of his eyes began shining blue once more. 

“I don’t want it to be, but it’s clear that my words mean nothing,” I said, my heart beginning to flutter in anticipation. “I’ll let my team do the talking.”

Mewtwo laughed to himself. “Fine,” he said with contempt, “have it your way.”


	4. Chapter 4: A Bitter Fight

####  Chapter 4: The Battle

“Wait!” 

He vanished the moment I called out to him.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Mewtwo! Please don’t do this!”

There was no response. At that point, I could no longer keep my fear under control; I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand as I looked around for any sign him. My Pokémon seemed to panic a little as well as they formed a tight circle around me.

Then the cave began to shake violently.

“Okay, I guess we’re really doing this,” I muttered, clambering onto Gyarados’ back as quickly as I was able.

“Don’t worry Lilly!” I looked toward Ampharos, who was enthusiastically waving her paws at me from the ground. “I’ll paralyze him before things get too out of hand,” she shouted cheerfully over the din.

“Right! Avoid hurting him if possible, but protect yourselves at all costs!” I shouted to my team.

And with that, the battle began.

From the safety of Gyarados’ back, I looked for the best places to hide behind in case it would become necessary later. Arbok slithered around the cavern at top speed, exhaling a gas from her mouth in an attempt to see Mewtwo’s movements. Togekiss flew about the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye from above. Ninetails watched Ampharos’ back, knowing Mewtwo would probably go for her first.

But to my surprise, he suddenly appeared behind Arbok.

“Arbok, behind you!”

She barely had time to burrow underground before Mewtwo sent a wave of psychic energy at her.

“Togekiss!” I shouted, standing on top of Gyarados’ head.

I leapt off of her and into the empty air, and Togekiss skillfully caught me on his back a moment later. Having lost sight of Arbok, Mewtwo started to go for Ampharos instead. Ninetails noticed and quickly blocked Mewtwo’s path with flames before fearlessly running up to him with her teeth bared.

“Ninetails be careful!” I shouted, pulling out an Ultra ball.

She snapped at him left and right, nimbly dodging his physical attacks.

“Ampharos, Thunder Wave!”

Ampharos, who had been following Ninetails, cried out and released a weak electric wave toward Mewtwo.

He noticed it just in time and redirected it toward Ninetails, who fell to the ground with a shudder.

“Ninetails, no!”

Before I could even raise my arm to throw the Ultra Ball, Mewtwo had levitated Ninetails and thrown her against the nearest wall. She cried out in pain and dropped several meters to the ground from where he threw her.

“Ultra Ball, go!” I shouted.

It flew toward Mewtwo and enveloped him in a red light, taking him inside and resting on the ground.

“Togekiss, go to Ninetails,” I said urgently.

We just barely passed the Ultra ball when it exploded open again, releasing Mewtwo.

He saw us passing and stopped Togekiss’ motion, sending me hurtling toward the wall that Ninetails had fallen from.

Just then, Arbok sprang up from under the earth in time to catch me with her hood and gently bring me to the ground. I did not have a moment to see what happened next, but as I stood up Togekiss was knocked flying past me and into the wall next to Ninetails. I looked toward Arbok, who was charging toward Mewtwo at full speed.

He was readying a ball of psychic energy, but I could also see Gyarados coming up from his left. Seconds before he released it, she let out one of the biggest Hydro Cannon attacks I had ever seen from a Pokémon.

I did not have time to shout a warning to Mewtwo before he was hit; I heard him cry out in pain and watched him get thrown into the nearest rock.

“Gyarados, don’t attack!”

“He’s knocking us out, Lilly!” she argued.

I was about to retort, but Mewtwo was on his feet again coughing out the water that had gotten in his mouth.

Gyarados quickly slithered toward him, dodging psychic attacks as she did so.

“Togekiss, Ninetails, return!”

Once they were out of harm’s way, I took out another Ultra ball and whistled for Arbok. Though Mewtwo seemed to no longer have the strength to even levitate off the ground, he was still able to dodge the ice attacks Gyarados was throwing at him.

“Is that really the best you can do?” Mewtwo’s voice echoed again.

He raised a hand, sending a beam of electricity toward her.

Gyarados cried out and fell to the ground.

“Ultra Ball, go!”

Arbok and I were close enough where I could throw another Ultra Ball. It hit its mark and fell to the ground, but it began shaking wildly.

“Ampharos, when this opens up again, I’m going to need you to—”

I didn’t have to wait long; it released Mewtwo before I could finish my sentence.

Arbok sent a Sludgebomb flying toward Mewtwo to distract him, then shook me off her back and rushed at full speed toward him.

“Get Gyaradossss into the Pokéball!” she called back to me.

Ampharos was hot on her tail, shooting a Signalbeam ahead of Arbok.

“Gyarados—”

“Lilly!”

I turned my head just in enough time to see a rogue psychic attack coming toward me. I dropped to the ground and heard it collide with the cave wall that I was running toward.

Ignoring my stinging palms, I got back to my feet as quickly as I could and turned to look at my remaining two Pokémon. I was startled to see Arbok trying to sink her fangs into one of Mewtwo’s legs. Ampharos had climbed up onto a rock, and then I understood that Arbok was trying to drive Mewtwo closer to Ampharos so that she could land an attack on him.

“Ampharos, now!” I shouted when I saw that he was within range.

That was a mistake; Mewtwo turned around and saw Ampharos. Just as she released a Thunderbolt attack, he teleported a few feet away. The attack hit Arbok instead, who cried out and fell to the ground.

“Arbok?!”

She didn’t respond.

Mewtwo started for Ampharos, who began wildly discharging electric. I ran toward them, drawing out another Ultra Ball.

“Don’t touch her!” I shouted, hurling the ball toward him.

It hit its target, drawing him inside once again.

“Ampharos, are you alright?” I huffed, close enough to see her better.

“Yeah, I’m—”

The Pokéball opened before she could finish.

Mewtwo was breathing heavily and clearly exhausted, but still on his feet. There was an eerily hollow look in his eyes.

“Signal beam!” I shouted.

Ampharos attacked, but Mewtwo deflected it with a wave of his hand.

“Ampharos—”

Before I could give her another command, she cried out in frustration and began to charge toward Mewtwo with her head lowered. At first, I was confused when Mewtwo made no effort to dodge her incoming Headbutt attack, but as she approached I could see him slowly draw his other hand back.

“Wait!” 

Mewtwo released a psychic attack, but Ampharos was able to dodge and headbutt him from the other side. He grunted and was knocked back a couple of feet.

For the first time since the battle had started, I was beginning to feel hopeful.

“Ampharos, use Thunder Wave!”

Ampharos cried out and released a weak electrical current, but Mewtwo deflected it once more. When she went to try again, he levitated her before hurling her into the cavern wall.

“Ampharos!”

There was no movement for a moment, but then she cried out weakly and lifted her head.

Mewtwo raised both his hands. Rocks began to tumble from the wall and ceiling above Ampharos.

“No!” I screamed, running toward her with her Pokéball in my hand, but I could not get there fast enough before they began to hit her.

“Ampharos, return!” I called, throwing her Pokéball in hopes that it would get to her before I could.

The red light flashed, and I could see that she had been absorbed into the Pokéball.

I put my hands on my knees for a moment, breathing heavily. When I had gotten enough air back into my lungs, I stowed her Pokéball back into my bag and turned to look for Mewtwo, but he was nowhere in sight.

“You’re going to try to kill my Pokémon and hide?! Come back out here and fight, coward!” I screamed, anger overpowering my sense at this point.

“I’m still here! Come out and face me! You . . . you stupid scaredy-cat! You—”

Without warning an invisible force pushed me, and I fell back on the cavern floor. Winded, I laid there for a second before sitting up and seeing that Mewtwo had reappeared. He was hovering nearby, though he was less than a foot off the ground. His violet eyes were fatigued, he seemed to be looking through me rather than at me.

“Are you quite finished?”

I glared back, full of anger.

“Your only option is to give up. Stop wasting time here, your Pokémon have suffered enough.”

He turned away from me and moved back a few feet, his voice lowering as he continued, “Leave this place now.”

I didn’t move from where I stood, instead I continued to glare at the back of his head. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a stray Ultra Ball near my foot.

"I must say . . .”

He alighted on the ground, grunting in pain as he leaned back against a rock, then chuckled to himself quietly, “this was quite simple.”

“You’re bluffing. You can barely stand on your feet,” I whispered to myself, standing back up with the ball in my fist.

Mewtwo slowly turned back around and began to limp toward me, raising his hand and forming a small sphere of energy with it.

“Do you think . . . I will hold back because you are a child?” he asked quietly.

Before I could even raise my hand to throw the Ultra Ball, he quickly drew his arm back and sent the sphere flying toward me.


	5. Chapter 5

####  Chapter 5: No Mercy

As soon as I saw the Ultra Ball in her hand, I did not hesitate to release the Aura Sphere I held in mine.

Seconds before it made contact with her, there was a bright flash followed by a thunderous bang. My shield failed to activate in time, and I was knocked flying from the center of the cave and into the rock wall before falling to the ground.

I cried out in pain, already badly injured from the attempted capture by Team Rocket only a few days prior.

_It backfired? Impossible!_

I grabbed onto the nearest rock and forced myself to my feet again, trying to make sense of what had happened. The blast had kicked up a cloud of dust, but it was not enough to dim the brilliant light that shone through. A high-pitched drone began to sound, growing in volume with each passing second.

_What . . . is that?_

The dust suddenly blew to the sides of the cave, revealing the girl. To my shock she was still on her feet, though her head was lowered to the ground. My vision was blurry, but even then I could see that something was very different about the trainer that stood before me.

Her hair was floating about her body, as if it was defying gravity. She wore what appeared to be a long, white robe with black material in the middle. Her shins and forearms appeared to be encased in a gold-colored metal; they glistened in the light. Two massive golden rings were rotating about her like some kind of shield.

She suddenly looked up, and in an instant flew to the side of the cave where I was located. She was close enough that I could see her eyes, green with red irises instead of black like those of a normal human.

The incredible volume of energy that emanated from this being was bouncing off of the walls of the cavern. Though it had dimmed when she approached, the light she emanated was still nearly blinding. I leaned back against the wall, afraid of what stood before me. Before I knew it happened, I realized that I had sunk to my knees. I groaned in frustration.

It stared at me without a trace of emotion in her face; this was not the same furious trainer that I was fighting moments ago.

“You were curious, were you not?” she finally asked.

I blinked in surprise; the voice was much deeper and thicker than the one that originally came from the young girl.

“I do not like to meddle in the affairs of my mortals,” she continued, “but had I continued to stand by idly today, this girl would have died. There was no reason for you to try to kill her, she meant you no harm.”

I stared back incredulously, not sure of what was going on or who was addressing me at the moment.

“I need her. Think of her as my home. If she dies, I will be forced to die with her. And trust me . . .”

I almost flinched when her face suddenly darkened.

“Nobody wants that to happen.”

“Should I . . . know who you are?” I asked, concentrating on the ground below as I tried to lean on the wall behind me to help me stand up.

“No . . . it would not be fair to expect that of you, of all Pokémon.”

“I am _not_ a—"

Before I could finish my sentence, she interrupted with her own introduction, “You may refer to me as Arceus. I am the creator of all living things in this universe.”

I slowly looked up when it said that, not sure that I had heard her correctly.

She pointed at me with a golden finger and added, “Except for you, of course. You are not mine. Although . . .”

Suddenly, she put a hand to her mouth, as if to think.

“If you _really_ wanted to be specific, one could say that I indirectly created you—”

“Then, you suggest you are a God?” I interrupted, pushing myself up with one leg.

“I would not do that—"

I gasped out in pain and fell down again, putting my arms out in front of me to catch myself.

“Yes, I suppose you could say that as well,” the strange girl continued while I tried to pull myself together, “but now would not be a good time to have that discussion; there are more pressing matters at hand.”

Something suddenly pushed my chin to look up at the being. I gritted my teeth together as she forced me to look her in the eyes.

“Listen carefully, Mewtwo. You will perish here if you continue to resist Lilly’s aid.”

“You mean yours?” I laughed bitterly.

“No.”

She indicated herself by putting a hand to her chest.

“I am not Lilly,” she said adamantly, “I am temporarily borrowing her body not only to protect her from your attack, but also to communicate with you. She will remember nothing of this conversation when I return it to her—”

“Then, she is merely your puppet?”

“Outside of her interfering in her choices that endanger my existence I do not take any part in Lilly’s life, especially while I am in such a vulnerable state.”

I glared in response, annoyed that she had not answered my question. There was a moment of silence as it examined me. It floated closer to the place where I was kneeling, beginning to speak again, “I can see that your existence has been very difficult up until now—“

“What do _you_ know—“

Suddenly, the girl raised one of her hands and quickly pressed her fingers together. I continued to form words with my mouth, but it was a moment before I realized that I wasn’t making any sounds.

“We are short on time, I need you to listen to me,” she sighed impatiently.

“I realize that you are afraid to leave. You knew that Lilly was coming from the moment she set foot into this cave. Why do you approach her so readily if you did not wish to be removed from here?”

I glared back in fury for a moment, unable to reply even telepathically, before the being said, “Interesting, I understand now. You wanted to die from this battle. You think that this will be a better fate than being taken back by the evildoers who call themselves Team Rocket.”

Her golden feet gently alighted on the ground in front of me before she continued in a serious tone, “Congratulations Mewtwo, you have met your goal. Your injuries have become fatal with this battle. You will die within the hour, unless you receive help.”

_Let me die here. Just leave me alone._

“But, I cannot allow that. There’s too much that I can learn from you, and that you can learn from being alive. You do not yet realize it, but I can tell just from our brief interaction that you have so much to offer this world.”

I felt myself losing consciousness as this being continued to spew words that I did not care to hear.

“I do not know your fate because I did not create you myself. But I know that leaving this cave with Lilly will be a step closer to your freedom. She will be angry with you for how you hurt her Pokémon, but she is not spiteful; she will not let you die.”

She raised her hands as she continued, “I will heal your internal injuries, but it will only gain you a few days time. Then the decision is yours, and yours alone.”

The girl raised her arms, lifting the golden circles that rotated around her body. When she lowered them again, the circles surrounded me instead. As she approached me, the high-pitched drone began to sound again. Her golden arms were the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

  
  


My eyes opened to the blue orb that Mewtwo planted on the ceiling when we first entered the cave.

_Ugh . . ._

I laid there for a moment, feeling too exhausted to move. Then I remembered why I was there and what had come to pass.

_My Pokémon!_

I sat upright, looking toward the center of the cave.

“What . . . what happened?”

I scrambled to my feet and turned around. When I saw a small crater in the middle of the cave, I gasped.

“Was that there before?”

I ran toward the crater, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Gyarados lying against the cave wall, unmoving.

“Gyarados!”

I began to run toward her, but then saw Arbok with part of her body stuck under a boulder.

“My Pokémon . . .”

I stumbled over a rock and fell on my hands. Pushing myself up again, I ignored my stinging palms when I took out their Pokéballs and called back their unconscious forms, one by one.

Once I got them back, I looked around for Mewtwo.

_Did he . . . escape?!_

When I turned back to where I woke up, I saw him. He was lying on his front by the farthest point in the cave, covered in dirt and sludge.

"Did . . . didn't he just attack me?"

I had begun to run toward him, but then I slowed down; I was afraid that he would suddenly spring up and try to kill me again. As I got closer, I could see that he was definitely knocked out, but I had no recollection of how he became unconscious.

I approached him with caution, but he continued to lie motionless; I worried that he was already dead.

“Mewtwo?”

He gave no response. I knelt down beside him and watched his thin back for a moment. When I finally saw that it was moving slightly, I sighed with relief. I fumbled through my bag, and miraculously found a Pokéball that I had not used.

I held it up, pressed the button, and tossed it at Mewtwo. Once again he was enveloped in the red light, and it drew him inside. I watched impatiently as it shook once, twice, and a third time before the capture was confirmed.

I stumbled into the Pokémon center and ran up to the counter where nobody was standing. It was late, but not late for the Pokémon Center.

“Nurse Joy!” I shouted desperately, ringing the little bell on the counter

She came hurrying out of the back room as soon as I called.

“Oh my word, are you alright Lilly?” Nurse Joy asked, looking me up and down.

"You look as though you were in the sewers!"

“I need to heal six . . . no five Pokémon please,” I gasped, leaning on the counter and placing their Pokéballs in the tray.

“Sure, of course.”

I decided to not let her heal Mewtwo, for his and my own protection. Each Pokémon healed at a center was recorded in the machine, and that would be evidence that Mewtwo had been captured if the Rockets ever found it.

“Lilly, your Pokémon have been badly injured,” she said after examining them in the machine behind the counter, “I’m afraid they’ll have to stay here a few days. What could they possibly have been doing? How could you be so irresponsible?”

“They uh . . . they got into an argument! And you know how my Pokémon are; they don’t know their own strength sometimes! Gyarados was accidentally pulled into the fight and—”

“You don’t need to say anymore, sweetie,” Joy said consolingly, “we’ll heal them up here and ship them to Viridian as soon as possible!”

“Oh, just send me a message on my Pokénav, I’ll come pick them up myself!”

“Sure, we’ll do just that.”

“I’m in a huge rush, do you have a pen and a piece of paper?”

“Certainly!” Joy took a pad off the counter and pushed it toward me, then reached into the pocket of her apron and handed me a pen with a cute Chansey on the end. I quickly scribbled a note for my Pokémon in Unknown:   
  


Went home to take care of Mewtwo. Couldn’t leave him here. I’ll come get you guys once Joy gives the OK. Behave for her. I’m very proud of what you did tonight. I’m sorry that you got so hurt. Please get better soon, I’ll have delicious food and hugs waiting for you!   
Love, Lilly

“Please let my Pokémon read this when they recover, will you?” I asked the nurse, pushing the note over the counter.

“Sure!”

She glanced at it, then spent a moment trying to decipher it before saying, “Um . . . what does it say, sweetie?”

“It’s a secret message, they’ll be able to read it.”

“Well, alright. Now you go get some rest; you look like you need it!”

“Thanks a lot Nurse Joy!”

“No problem!”

I withdrew Fearow from the Pokémon Storage System, ran outside, and took off for Pallet Town.


	6. Chapter 6

####  Chapter 6

We were in the air for about two minutes before we landed back in Pallet Town. I thanked Fearow and called him back into the Pokéball, then ran into the house. After I threw my backpack on the coffee table, I took out the Pokéball that Mewtwo was inside of and aimed it toward the couch.

“Wait . . . that will never come out of the fabric,” I muttered to myself.

I put his Pokéball down and hurried to the kitchen. It took me a couple of draws until I found what I was looking for: the plastic wrap.

Luckily, there was just enough to cover the fabric where I needed it to. I tossed the empty box aside, aimed the Pokéball toward the couch again, and pressed the button. There was a soft crinkling sound from the plastic wrap when Mewtwo appeared on the couch.

I had always seen it as a large couch, but it was definitely not long enough to support his feet that dangled off of the arm. Mewtwo’s eyes were still closed, and his face was so peaceful that I again feared that he might already be dead.

“Mewtwo?” I asked quickly, kneeling by his head.

After a moment, he blinked weakly, but did not acknowledge me.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I sighed, standing up again.

I tried to figure out where to begin, but the state of his body at the time was almost overwhelming; besides the wounds I could clearly see, there were probably several more hidden under a thin layer of Arbok’s Sludgebomb. As I was looking him over, Mewtwo fully opened his eyes and seemed to finally realize that I was standing there when he looked at me. I tried to ignore his stare, but it was useless.

“Uhm . . . hi,” I said, looking at my feet.

He didn’t say anything, but after a moment his eyes began to dart around the room in confusion. “This is . . . uhm . . . I got you out of the cave. We’re in my Aunt’s house in Pallet Town, now.”

He looked at me again. Though his face did not change, his eyes clearly said that he was pissed. “Arbok got you pretty good, so I have to clean you up now. Okay?

Still no response. “That’s funny, I don’t remember her biting your throat out,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

He rolled his eyes and looked away, continuing to ignore my question. I sighed and said, “Just stay there, and don’t even think about escaping.”

I took of my sneakers and threw them by the door before walking down the hallway and into my Aunt’s bathroom. Since I had originally planned on taking Mewtwo to the Pokémon center, I did not bother to stock up on medical supplies ahead of time. But when I opened the cabinet under the sink to see what I had to work with, I remembered that I did not need to worry at all; my Aunt in this region worked in a hospital as a nurse for humans. Though the products were not for Pokémon I had never heard of Pokémon being damaged by them, so I grabbed several things in hopes that they would work.

My arms full, I walked back toward the living room and put the supplies on the coffee table before heading to the kitchen to get a bowl of water.

When I came back with the bowl, Mewtwo had turned his head back toward the front door. I knelt by the coffee table with the bowl and soaked a rag in it, then wrung it out. I looked Mewtwo over again, my stomach churning from the grime and wounds. Blood was beginning to cover the cellophane; I took a separate rag and wiped it off.

_I have to be quick about this,_ I thought to myself.

I tried to get his attention by looking him in the eyes. He returned my gaze this time, his breathing shallow.

“Are you . . . in a lot of pain?” I asked as calmly as I was able, trying not to let him know how nauseous I was.

There was silence for a moment.

“I don’t want to make any of your injuries worse, so I need you to talk to me. Please.”

_No_ , he said finally, speaking inside my head.

I jumped; I had never heard a voice inside my head like that before.

I composed myself and gave him a stern look. "Now isn’t the time to be proud, I don’t know how long you have until you bleed—”

_No, I cannot feel anything._

“Oh . . . okay. I’ll do this as quickly as I can, then.”

I lifted the wash cloth and gently placed it on his chest, then took my Pokenav from my bag to type a message to Ash:

**Got Mewtwo out and brought him home, he’s in bad shape.**

**Fixing him up. Come over ASAP.**

**Love, Lilly**

After sending that message I took the cloth and immediately got to work on cleaning up his midsection, where his worst wounds were.

_What is that?_

I was startled to hear his voice again. “What is what?” I asked back.

_That apparatus you used to communicate with Ash_ , he replied gruffly.

I looked at him, surprised that he knew who I had messaged.

“How’d you know—”

_I am a psychic; I can read minds._

_That’s going to be fun,_ I thought before I could stop myself.

_That means_ _I can hear all of your thoughts_ , he added condescendingly.

“It’s called a Pokénav,” I said out loud, “it can show locations, send messages to other Pokénav users, and it tells time. It’s a good tool for a Pokémon trainer to have.”

I moved back to the bowl to rinse the rag, then carefully began wiping his long legs.

_Why did you tell Ash to come?_

I couldn’t help but feel confused when he asked that. I looked up at his face and could see that his gaze had softened slightly.

“I thought you would like to see him. He was the one who told me to get you from the cave and all.”

_I . . . presume I do._

His tone was uncertain, his eyes darting from me to the door.

I resumed wiping.

_Why did you not take me to the Pokémon Center?_

“‘Cause Team Rocket—”

_. . . could have discovered my data and fathomed that it was you who captured me. But if you truly are Arceus, you must be capable of healing me without the use of common medicinal practices, correct?_

My breath caught in my throat and I was forced to stop what I was doing again.

“How . . . how did you know—“

_That is the reason you are alive; Arceus took over when I tried to finish you off. He is also the reason that I am paralyzed at the present._

I stared at him in shock, then looked away and whispered, “That’s why I couldn’t remember the moment you passed out . . .”

I reached over to clean the leg furthest from me, then asked, “You saw him?”

_He was using your body to communicate to me, but he did change some of your physical features when . . . never mind, answer my question._

“Sorry, what was your question again?”

_Why are you not able to heal me with Arceus’ power?_

“Well . . . I can’t access those abilities whenever I want to yet,” I said quietly.

“Arceus interacts with me when he’s in danger of being harmed, I’ve only talked to him maybe three or four times. Otherwise I’m sure it would be a lot faster to heal you that way—”

He interrupted me yet again by asking, _What reason do you have to help me?_

It was a moment before I replied, “Ash asked me—”

_I attempt to annihilate you and your Pokémon, and here you are cleansing the grime off of my body. Why not let me die? Would that not satisfy your need for revenge?_

I stopped looking at his face and went back to wiping his legs, trying to not think about what I wanted to respond to that with.

“I don’t . . . I don’t want revenge,” I murmured, my voice suddenly hardening.

_I already know that you are angry. I want to know why you are helping me, despite that._

I threw the wash cloth on the ground

“Fine, okay, of course I’m angry with you!”

I glared at him and said, “I’m doing this for Ash. What you did to my Pokémon today was horrible, I was so scared that I was going to lose them. But that doesn’t mean I want you dead. If I don’t clean this off and bandage your wounds as quickly as possible, you really could get an infection and die . . . or something. So, please . . .”

I picked up the wash cloth again, fighting back tears, “just let me get through this. Then you’ll never have to hear from me again, I promise.”

Mewtwo instantly reacted. His eyes narrowed once more as he growled inside my head:

_Do you think you can just do as you wish with the lives of others? That was the last place I knew I was safe in, and you took me from there even with that knowledge. I was fighting for my life because I know for certain that they will be able to find me now that I have left the cave._

“I . . . but they were going to . . .”

I sighed and stood up, putting one hand to my face.

“Never mind, it’s impossible to reason with you."

With those words hanging in the air, I went back to the kitchen to rinse out the bowl of water and compose myself. When I returned to his side, Mewtwo’s gaze had softened.

_You are so much like Ash, choosing kindness over retribution._

I ignored the comment and busied myself once more by carefully wiping around the gash on his abdomen.

“How did you get all these injuries? Ash told me you could heal yourself.”

_The Rockets had nearly eliminated me during our previous encounter merely a week ago,_ he said indignantly

“I don’t know what that means,” I said.

_. . . Even now, I still do not have the strength to restore myself_ , he reluctantly confessed.

“Oh.”

I had to resist smirking at the thought of that being painful for him to admit. 

At that moment I started wiping his face, and noticed his eyes turn an even darker purple when I smirked.

I couldn’t help but think that they were beautiful.

_I may be one of the sole Pokémon with violet eyes_ , he said quietly.

I felt my face heat up and made a big deal out of wiping his face; he had to keep his eyes squinted shut until I was finished.

“Are you sure you’re not in a lot of pain?” I asked, getting back on my knees.

Opening his eyes again, he replied, _I cannot feel a thing. You would know by now if I was in any sort of pain._

Before Mewtwo could protest, I put both my hands under his back and heaved in an attempt to flip him over, but I couldn’t lift him even an inch off the couch.

“Ahh,” he gasped aloud.

“How . . . much do you weigh?!” I grunted, taking my hands out from beneath him and vigorously wiping them on the cloth.

_Was that necessary? I do have wounds on my back_ , he replied, clearly annoyed.

“You’re so skinny. Look at you!” I protested, ignoring his comment as I indicated his lanky arms and thin upper body.

_The mass is primarily in my cranium and legs_.

“How am I supposed to clean your back, then?” I asked, propping my head on my hand.

_That will not be imperative. The injuries on my back are minor compared to the ones visible to you now._

I had to get up anyway to rinse the rag again. When I returned, I began to work on his midsection. I noticed Mewtwo watching me out of the corner of my eye, but did not acknowledge it. Once the silence was beginning to get uncomfortable, it was then that I remembered Ash telling me to ask Mewtwo about himself.

“Ash said that you had certain defects . . .” I said hesitantly.

_That would be accurate._

Though I was surprised that he admitted to having flaws at all so readily, I continued, “He didn’t think you would like it if he told me, so he said to ask you about them when we meet.”

_Why on Earth is this necessary to discuss? You do not need to know where my weaknesses lie, I would not want you using them against me in the future,_ he said defensively.

“Believe me, after today I don’t see myself trying to fight you ever again. But since you will be staying with Ash after this, it’s probably good that you tell me in case something goes wrong so my team and I can help,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as I could.

Mewtwo hesitated, unsure of what to say. Then he sighed deeply.

_Very well_ , he began after a long pause, _as far as I am aware, there are only three. The first is that my force fields and powers of invisibility do not always work. It is usually a result of being seriously weakened. Similarly, I am unable to heal myself if I become weakened enough. The second one is my failure to defend myself against Dark Types as well as other Pokémon—_

“It could be because you’re a Psychic type. Nobody can hit a Dark Type with a Psychic move.”

I was trying to show off my knowledge of Pokémon, but the distraction nearly caused me to wipe over the broad gash in his side. I decided I wouldn’t try that again.

Mewtwo thought my words over for a second before responding.

_While that is true, the weakness only applies to moves taught by a trainer, or moves learned when getting stronger. Even if I refrained from using those attacks, my offensive is cut in at least half against Dark Types. But, your comment made me realize that the Rockets may have purposely given me that defect because of the multitude of Dark Type Pokémon they possess._

“Oh . . . yeah, that makes sense.”

_My final flaw—_

He gasped suddenly and squeezed his eyes shut. I quickly took my hands off of him, my eyes widening. He seemed to be holding his breath.

“What is it?” I panicked, looking near his right shoulder where my hands just were.

_Ah . . . do not . . . do not touch there . . ._

I looked again closely, not seeing any visible damage.

“Is something broken? I thought you couldn’t feel anything.”

_No . . . I mean . . . yes, probably._

I chewed my lip nervously, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with that right now.”

Mewtwo’s breathing returned to normal again.

_No matter. I will fix it myself sooner or later._

“Are you sure?”

_Yes, continue._

“ . . . Okay.”

I put the washcloth back over my hand and started again, avoiding his right shoulder.

“So . . . what was that last flaw again?”

Mewtwo’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly at my question, and he sighed deeply. I then realized he probably faked the injury so that I would forget that I had asked him the question in the first place.

But he told me anyway, perhaps for fear of being seen as a coward.

_My final flaw_ , he said after another long pause, _is that . . . I cannot love._

_Did I hear him right?_

_Yes,_ he said dryly _, do not make me repeat myself._

I stared at him perplexedly and asked, “Sorry, what was that? You can’t . . .?”

He shot me a look of annoyance before he repeated himself anyway, _I cannot love. The scientists who created me chose not to give me that ability, they felt that it was impractical . . . why are you laughing?”_

As he was talking, I actually had burst out laughing. I tried to hold it in, but the ridiculousness of it was too much.

_Can’t love? He must be joking,_ I thought to myself.

When Mewtwo began glaring at me again, I stopped laughing and tried to stop thinking altogether. I had just finished cleaning the dirt off of him as well, so I grabbed the iodine and dumped some on a gauze pad.

“This is going to sting, so I really hope that you can’t actually feel anything,” I warned.

_I will not repeat myself._

“Right, sorry,” I muttered. 

I dumped a little extra iodine just to spite him, hoping that it would end up stinging anyway. But as I applied it he didn’t even flinch; or perhaps he was just immune to the sting?

“Sorry, it’s just . . . can’t love? What does that mean?” I asked in disbelief, moving back to his worst cut to apply it.

_I give my word. You can ask Ash if you do not believe me._

“But . . . but anybody can love. It isn’t something you’re made with, it just happens . . . right?” I asked, still very confused by the idea.

_You are young. What could you possibly know about love?_ he scoffed.

I turned to look at his face, one of my hands still on his stomach His eyes were mocking, but after a moment they softened. I could tell that he found something that I wasn’t ready to talk about yet.

“Mewtwo, you don’t even know anything about me,” I said quietly, staring him down.

_I see . . ._

“Nope, get out of my head!” I insisted, trying to drown him out.

_Your parents died protecting you._

_“_ Argh, why don’t you listen?!”

I turned my attention to his legs instead and began applying iodine there.

_I cannot control what I hear. You are welcome to tell me this for yourself, instead._

“Actually, no, I don’t need to tell you about my dead parents,” I said, trying to keep my cool.

_Fine, then tell me something else._

“What do you want to know?”

_You genuinely are Arceus?_

I sighed, looking up at the ceiling for a second.

“No . . . well . . . kind of . . .”

_Well? Which is it?_ he asked impatiently.

I sighed in frustration, then said, “It’s complicated. I don’t even understand it much myself, but . . . yeah, he’s definitely here.”

_You must know something else_ , he pressed, _how is it that the God of this universe has come to reside in a young human girl like yourself?_

“That’s all I’m telling you for right now,” I said firmly, “but even that much has to be kept a secret. You can’t talk about that with anybody . . . well, except for maybe Ash if you must, but that’s it.”

_Your assumption that I would willingly talk to other humans is laughable._

“You’re talking to me right now,” I said under my breath.

_As if I have a choice!_ he snapped back.

There was another moment of silence before Mewtwo continued, _I only heard myths and lore of the being that created the universe . . . are they all accurate?_

I had just finished applying the iodine to his legs when he asked that question. I put the bottle on the table and looked at his eyes once more. They seemed eager, hungry for information, without a trace of hostility or stubbornness in them.

“You’re asking too many questions, and I really don’t know the answers to most of them,” I muttered, carefully applying some iodine on his arm.

His voice became a few decibels louder inside my head when he asked, _And you are not? You just interrogated me for the last ten minutes._

I really did think about telling him for a moment, but I decided against it.

“Mewtwo,” I said, grabbing a gel as the final step before the bandage, “we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot today. I don’t really want to tell you about any of that stuff. And like I said, I don’t even know that much about it myself; everything I think I know might all be wrong information anyway. You can understand that, right?”

His look of wonder changed to a look of irritation when he said, _I explained to you nearly every detail about myself. You cannot tell me any details about the God that lives within you?_

I rolled my eyes when I said, “I think telling you about myself is a _little_ riskier than telling me about yourself. Besides, you said almost every detail.”

_Well there is not much more to me than that . . . not that I remember, anyway._

Despite being angry, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy when he said that; I remembered how Ash said the scientists had completely erased all the memories he had of his formative years.

Another mistake; his eyes narrowed again as he said, _I am not looking for sympathy. I only want the truth._

I reached over him and took the arm nearest the back of the couch, his left one, to rub with gel.   
“I . . . I’m sorry. But I need to know you better before I say anything.”

Mewtwo looked at me as if he had more to say, but just then the front door squeaked loudly as it opened. I looked at Mewtwo’s face to see if I could tell who was entering the house by his expression, and Ash’s cheery “Hey!” confirmed the almost instant lightening of his eyes.  
  



	7. Chapter 7

####  Chapter 7: A Friend  
  


I pictured Ash walking through the door with Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

“We came as soon as we could,” I heard him say from the entrance.

After carefully applying the gel to the rest of his leg, I immediately stood up and ran over to Ash, giving him a hug that nearly knocked him over.

“Glad you could join us,” I sighed, letting my forehead rest on his shoulder.

“Sorry, I had to come up with an excuse to get out of the house. Mom’s super protective of our time whenever I come home to visit, and she doesn’t know that Mewtwo is here yet.”

Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and said, “Pika pii!” 

_“Hey, where’s my hug?”_ he asked indignantly.

“I didn’t forget you, little buddy!” I said, letting Ash go and allowed Pikachu to jump into my arms. He nuzzled my nose with his, sending a light shock through my face. I giggled and shuddered in response.

Ash’s voice finally reached my ears, and I looked over to see that he was already gabbing with Mewtwo about something. Mewtwo was not responding verbally, but for some reason his voice was also somewhat audible in my head as he replied to Ash.

“C’mon Pikachu,” I whispered, walking over to join them. I let Pikachu hop off of my shoulder and onto the coffee table, then got back on my knees and quickly resumed putting gel on his cuts.

“And why are you talking to me with telepathy? Are you in that much pain?” Ash asked, concerned.

_It is more efficient this way,_ he lied.

“Actually, I didn’t finish putting ointment on him yet. He’s . . . still paralyzed,” I said, purposefully trailing off at the end.

Ash looked at me like I had three eyes before asking, “He’s paralyzed? What happened?”

“It’s a long story . . .” I sighed.

Ash frowned and looked back at Mewtwo.

“Did you give her a really hard time? You knew it wasn’t safe in that cave.”

_And you knew that I did not want to leave. Were you really expecting anything less?_ he replied, his dull eyes steadily brightening at the sight of his friend.

“I told her not to attack you! But she had to paralyze you in order to get you to leave?”

I tuned out again as they started arguing. I carefully finished applying gel to his torso and small amounts on his face. When that was done, I began to bandage the wounds with gauze. After a few minutes, Mewtwo and Ash began to discuss what happened since they had last seen each other; I was too lost in my own thoughts to eavesdrop effectively.

_I guess Ash never technically said where Mewtwo was going once I caught him . . . will he be taking him now?_

I carefully bandaged his leg as I thought about this.

_He shouldn’t, he needs to rest here . . . maybe for just one or two days. But I’ll definitely send him to Ash before my Pokémon come home, they might not take too kindly to him being here after what happened today._

I placed some gauze over the wound on his torso and began taping over the edges.

_But even so . . . it might be fun to train a Pokémon as strong as him. Once he’s not dying, anyway._

I paused to look up at Ash and Mewtwo and noticed that Mewtwo was looking down at me. After a moment of confusion, it clicked that he heard all of the things I was just thinking. I felt my cheeks heat up once again, but Mewtwo had turned his attention back to Ash before I could even look away.

_Why are you so nosey? I told you to get out of my head!_ I snapped at him.

_And I told you that I cannot control what I hear,_ he replied.

_How can you listen to me and Ash at the same time?!_

_One of my many talents,_ he replied dryly.

I ignored him and went back to what I was doing. I thought about my Pokémon and wondered how they were recovering, but I was also able to listen in on some of their conversation during this time.

“Mewtwo, you’ll be kind to her, won’t you? Lilly is a very caring person,” Ash had said at one point.

_It may be possible to . . . tolerate her_ , was his reply.

“That’s not a yes, this has to work!”

_I said that it may be possible, did I not?_

Ash sighed dramatically, then asked, “Can’t you ever promise anything?”

As soon as I finished bandaging up what felt like nearly every inch of Mewtwo, they seemed to be finished with their conversation. I got out a paralyze heal from my bag, sprayed Mewtwo with it, and in seconds he was levitating about half an inch off the ground, very gingerly stretching his limbs aside from his left arm.

I was still impressed by his height.

Ash stood up and addressed me with a question, “So Lilly, what do you think?”

“I was too focused to listen to any of that. Think about what?” I asked, unaware of what he was talking about.

“Will you let Mewtwo stay with you for some time? Just so that the Rockets can lose his trail?”

I almost choked on the air that I swallowed.

“O-oh,” I said in surprise, then I added, “I thought he was going to stay with you? You only wanted me to catch him for you, right?” 

“Yeah, but, then I realized that Team Rocket is always on my trail when I least expect it, you know?” he laughed and scratched the back of his head.

I hesitated, then added unwillingly, “How long is . . . awhile?”

“Will you really? I know he messed up your Pokémon today, but he can be really friendly once you—”

“Ashton, do not lie to her—”

“Mewtwo, don’t say that! You do have some compassion in you, even if you think you don’t. You just need to learn how to use it better.”

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

Ash noticed, then smirked at me and aggressively threw an arm around my shoulders.

“And what better person to teach you than the definition of goodness itself, Lilly Prescott?”

I looked at Ash as if he had grown a third eye.

“I’m sorry, me?”

“You heard me. And don’t try to tell me you don’t have any compassion either, ’cause I’ve seen it. You can’t help but be nice to everybody, even if you don’t like them. Why shouldn’t that apply to Mewtwo?”

I snorted with laughter and undid myself from his grasp, saying “You just haven’t seen my mean side yet.” 

Ash frowned disapprovingly.

“Do I not get a say in this? I cannot have two . . . _children_ making these decisions for me,” Mewtwo snapped.

He tried to cross his arms over his chest in defiance but remembered his broken rib before making that mistake.

“You know, he’s right, too,” Ash said in agreement.

“When have I _ever_ been wrong?”

“Mewtwo, why don’t you think it over while Lilly and I go talk about more stuff?”

“Stuff?” I asked weakly, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“Yeah, stuff. Wait here while we go talk, alright Mewtwo?”

Mewtwo scowled when he asked, “And what exactly will you be discussing? What are you trying to hide?”

“Er . . . whose house you’ll be staying at, of course,” Ash laughed, scratching the back of his neck with his hand and returning his gaze sheepishly.

Mutinously, he stared into Ash’s eyes; I could tell that he was trying to read his thoughts.

The look vanished and was replaced with one of satisfaction, “No matter . . . it is of no importance."

“Go on. I will not follow,” he said as he rose off the ground and sprawled out once more on the couch.

Pikachu sat on the coffee table and said, “Pikachu!” 

“ _I’ll stay here, too_.”

“I agree, Pikachu should stay here,” I said.

“Alright, then let’s go Lilly,” Ash said, and walked out the door before I could say otherwise.

I sighed and walked toward the door, glanced one more time back at Mewtwo as I slipped on a pair of flip flops, and went out into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

####  Chapter 8: The Request

“Can’t we just stay in the house and talk?” I begged.

As I was finishing that sentence, I let out a dramatic yawn in an effort to show him how exhausted I was.

“Let’s just talk tomorrow, Ash. It’s so late, and I haven’t even showered yet. Also, I don’t think I should be leaving Mewtwo inside the house by himself . . . hey, are you even listening to me?”

Clearly ignoring me, Ash whipped out a Pokéball and released his Charizard, who also yawned as he stretched his wings.

I was beginning to grow frustrated; I sat down on the ground, trying my hardest to persuade him as I said, “Let’s talk right here. This is far enough from the house, right?”

“Lilly, are you crazy? Mewtwo’s only twenty feet away, I’m sure he can hear us right now!”

“I’m just not so sure that he’s going to . . . behave while I’m gone,” I admitted.

Ash’s eyes rolled back so far into his head that I thought they were going to detach from his retinas.

“He’s a Pokémon, not a baby; he’ll be fine for a few minutes. Besides, Pikachu’s with him,” he insisted.

“Is _that_ supposed to make me feel better?”

“Did it not work?”

“Ash, what Pikachu going to do if Mewtwo wants to destroy my Aunt’s house as revenge for being captured? Nuzzle him until he’s paralyzed?” I asked as I stood up and let out my Fearow from its Pokéball.

“Mewtwo can’t even protect himself right now if someone were to walk in, and he definitely can’t rearrange your house; you’ve seen for yourself how helpless he is right now. And besides, he knows doing anything to hurt you will upset me now.”

I sighed and pressed my fingers to my temples, then took a deep breath.

“Alright, fine Ash,” I said as I exhaled.

I hesitantly got on Fearow’s back, and he followed Ash’s Charizard as they set off due northeast.

“Where are we even going?!” I shouted over the wind.

“We’re going to Celadon! Even if he could, Mewtwo definitely isn’t going to follow us there.” Ash shouted back.

“Wait, why Celadon?”

“Because of the Rocket Hideout in the Game Corner!”

“Ash, they evacuated that building a long time ago!”

“Oh right, I forgot . . . Charizard! Head to Isle Four!”

“Chari!”

_“Yeah, yeah!”_

Charizard veered to the right, and Fearow followed close behind. After about half an hour of flying we finally landed on the beach of Isle Four, home to the Team Rocket Headquarters; there are probably still some Rockets there today.

“Good thinking,” I said breathlessly.

“Yeah, I know,” Ash said, putting his hands on his hips.

We left our Pokémon to enjoy the sand and started walking along the beach, listening to the waves lapping against the shore. The effect it had on me was almost immediate; I did not realize that my heart had been pounding as if we were still in the cave.

“So . . . long day, huh?” Ash said finally, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“You have no idea,” I mumbled sleepily, stumbling along the sand, “we went through . . . a lot.”

“I’m just amazed that you caught Mewtwo. How did you pull it off?” he asked, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“Well, it wasn’t easy,” I grunted, “It took me forever to find Arceus—”

“Wait, you had to find Arceus? Metwo really took out all of your Pokémon?” Ash asked, dumbfounded.

“ . . . Yeah.”

“I mean I know how powerful he is, but I didn’t think things would go that far,” Ash murmured.

“I still didn't even find Arceus, he just came out himself,” I admitted.

“Well it’s a good think that he did, right?”

“Yeah, Mewtwo really would have killed all of us if Arceus didn’t make an appearance.”

“I’m so sorry that happened, I should have been there to calm him down,” Ash said, looking toward the ground.

I shook my head vigorously before responding with, “No, don’t be sorry. He was like that because it was the only place where he felt safe, he told me himself.”

“He said that to you?” Ash asked, mildly surprised.

“Yeah. You did the right thing by not coming along, it would have only made things worse,” I laughed a little bit.

I plopped down on the sand and fell on my back, not really caring about the grit that would get in my hair. Ash laid down beside me and we gazed at the stars together in silence.

“I just . . . I can’t believe he nearly killed them all,” I whispered after a moment, “I’ve never been in a fight that bad before.”

“Don’t feel bad. Nobody could be prepared to fight a Pokémon like that,” Ash said quickly.

“But . . . I should have been. You had told me what to expect. And my team is so powerful, so in sync with each other, and he just . . . he practically ran circles around them. How can a Pokémon be that strong?”

“He was literally engineered to be the strongest Pokémon in the world,” Ash chuckled.

“I know, I just . . . I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“I remember feeling the same way when I first faced him. He’s too strong for his own good.”

“Right, but recently he was practically beaten to death by Team Rocket!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air and letting them drop on the ground again, “How were they able to do that when my team could barely lay a finger on him? What kinds of things do you think Team Rocket did to him?”

“For someone who doesn’t like this Pokémon, you seem to really be interested in him already,” Ash remarked casually.

“I’m not,” I said quickly, flicking some sand his way, “I just want to know what happened. He was so weak today and yet he was able to take out my Pokémon; how did a healthy Mewtwo get caught off guard enough for Team Rocket to do that much damage to him?”

I heard Ash shrug in the sand, then he said, “Guess you’ll just have to ask him that, won’t you?”

“I’m not going to ask him anything else,” I said stubbornly, “because I don’t have to talk to him again after this evening.”

Ash bit his lip, and neither of us spoke for the moment. I could tell he was going to say something else, but he also knew I’d probably yell at him for it.

“Lilly,” he started, his tone cautious, “I know exactly how dangerous he can be. I kind of had the same experience the first time I met him . . . well, you already know that story. But I really think it would be a good for the both of you if you took him in.”

I snorted, “The _both_ of us? Why, so he can try to kill my Pokémon again?”

“Uh . . . no . . . I was just thinking . . . hey, wait a minute!”

He sat up, “Didn’t you tell me one time that Arceus said that you should have some kind of bodyguard during its healing process?”

"My Pokémon already protect me from all kinds of danger. They’re perfectly capable of filling that role," I said, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Yeah, but what if you had a really powerful one that just stayed by your side—"

“ _Wait_ , wait, wait . . .”

I stared at him in disbelief for a moment, having finally put two and two together.

“Are you saying that _Mewtwo_ should act as a guardian to me?!” I practically shouted.

“Jeez Lilly, I’m right next to you!” he said, covering his ears jokingly.

“Well apparently you can’t hear yourself; even you would never suggest something that stupid,” I retorted.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Nobody can hate you, Lilly. It’s only a matter of time before he comes to really trust you, and . . .” Ash paused for a moment, “maybe he’ll even—”

“Do you still not hear yourself right now? I don’t even know him, Ash!” I whispered loudly.

“Well—"

“What makes you think he’ll want to stay with a little girl he can’t even take seriously? He probably thinks that I just sit around and play with dolls, paint my nails, or watch makeup tutorials—”

“He just needs some—”

“And if that isn’t reason enough,” I interrupted yet again, “I _definitely_ don’t trust him enough to tell him a single thing about Arceus! He already tried asking me about him earlier, as if he deserves any kind of information from me after how he acted!”

“Trust is a thing that forms over time, it doesn’t just happen when you first meet somebody,” Ash argued.

“Well I certainly would not be expecting somebody who is going to be my _guardian_ to try to kill me and my Pokémon the first day I meet them!” I snapped back.

“I think you just need to give him a chance—”

“And I don’t even need one Guardian! I’m capable of taking care of myself; as I’ve been doing for the past three years, thank you very much!”

“Lilly, you’ve never taken care of yourself,” Ash sighed.

I stopped talking and shot him a look, then asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your Pokémon have always taken care of you. When are you going to realize that you can’t do everything on your own? Living with Arceus has never been a walk in the park for you, and you know it."

“I don’t care, and I don’t need help! I hate asking for it. Don’t you see?”

I looked up at him, “Whenever I ask for help, someone gets hurt. When my Pokémon helped me today, they almost got killed!

“Lilly—”

“No, I’m done talking about it!” I said stubbornly, twisting around so that I was looking at the other side of the beach and away from Ash.

Ash heaved a big sigh behind me. He hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Do you know how many times my Pokémon and friends got hurt because of me?”

I didn’t answer him.

“I’ve lost count, and I’ve only known them for a year. These things happen to everyone, Lilly. You’re not alone on this,” Ash said consolingly.

There was the sound of crunching as Ash laid down on the sand. I knew he was right; I just didn’t want to admit it.

I turned a little bit back in his direction so that I could see him out of the corner of my eye.

“My parents are dead because of me,” I said quietly, “I’m not sure why or how, but they got themselves killed all because of me.”

“Lilly, you had no control over that. They must have loved you—"

“I know they loved me!” I shouted again, sitting up, “But you still don’t get it, do you?”

I picked up my necklace and held it out so he could see it. Its colors were drawn out by the moonlight, and it emanated a soft glow. I wrapped my fingers tightly around it in my frustration.

“I have a . . . a thing living in this necklace that practically controls this universe, and I couldn’t lift a finger to help my parents! I couldn’t protect them! And even now I can’t protect my Pokémon, or even myself.”

I began to cry. Ash quickly sat up and put his arm around me comfortingly. I did not move for a moment, but eventually I gave in and let my head rest against his shoulder.

At that moment, I missed my parents more than ever. I knew they would not have had all the answers that I was looking for, but at least I would not have to be figuring this out all on my own.

After I had gotten my breathing back under control Ash finally spoke up.

“Lilly,” he said quietly, “your Pokémon are there to help you through anything. They knew what they were getting themselves into; they needed to be with you today.”

The light of the full moon sparkled off the waves. A large Krabby scuttled by, blowing bubbles. I fixed my gaze toward the ocean and saw a Magikarp leap out of the water and drop back in like a rock.

As my crying was reduced to occasional sniffling I said, “H-he told me that he couldn’t love. Do you actually believe that?”

Ash turned to look at me, his mouth parting in surprise.

“Wait, he really admitted that to you? Already?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? You’re the one who told me to ask about his defects—”

“Yeah, but I didn’t actually think he would tell you anything!” he said, his excitement continuing to escalate.

“Then why did you tell me to ask in the first place? To make me look like an idiot?”

“It wasn’t ‘till I saw him at Mt. Quena that he told me he couldn’t love. And he tells you an hour after you catch him? That’s saying something.”

“Well, not really, I asked him,” I insisted.

“He wouldn’t have told you if he didn’t trust you. He must know what kind of person you are!” Ash sounded excited.

“Or maybe this is a sign that he doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut,” I muttered under my breath. 

“Trust me,” Ash sighed knowingly, “he does.”

I didn’t respond right away; I just stretched my arms and rubbed some of the sand off my toes. Ash stopped talking, realizing that I was thinking the situation over. We sat there, listening to the waves some more. A few minutes later, I sighed and got off the sand.

“Well,” I said as I stretched my arms to the sky, “I guess I’ll have to learn to control my thoughts, won’t I?”

Ash looked relieved when he said, “Thanks. You won’t regret it.”

I smiled and extended my hand to help him up off the sand. “I’m sure I will,” I said jokingly.


	9. Chapter 9

####  Chapter 9: The First Night

After another half hour, we were on the grass outside of my house. Ash and I climbed off of our Pokémon and watched as they began wandering about Pallet Town.

“Are you gonna stay over tonight? Mewtwo might appreciate you being there,” I said, checking my Pokénav for the time.

“Nah, you can handle it. Besides, I think it’d be better if I went to visit my Mom. She’s probably still up waiting for me.” 

“I understand. You guys should come over for lunch sometime soon, then!"

“Alright. I’ll tell her.”

We stood there for a moment. I kept looking back toward the house, nervous about going back inside. “It’s going to be fine,” Ash said, interrupting my thoughts, “I don’t think he’s going to give you a hard time tonight.”

“We’ll see,” I sighed, starting back toward the house.

“Good night Lilly!” Ash called after me.

“Good night,” I said, raising my hand back to him.

“If you need help, just call me on the Pokénav.”

With that, he walked over to his house. I stepped onto the porch and stared at the door for a moment, then sighed and opened the door.

“I’m back,” I called.

Closing it behind me, I saw Mewtwo sitting upright on the couch watching TV. As I put my backpack down by the kitchen table, a deep, familiar voice sounded inside my head:

_About time._

Though he had used it earlier, the telepathy was still startling to me.

“I’m right here, I could hear you if you had just said it out loud.”

_As I stated earlier, this is more efficient._

I ignored his curtness and instead asked, “Did Pikachu put the TV on for you?”

_In case you forgot, I was created to be the most intelligent Pokémon in the world. My mental capacity far exceeds any human, especially yours. I think I can learn how to work a television remote._

Trying not to snap back with something equally rude I said, “I’m glad you figured it out.”

The hardwood floor was cold on my feet, so I decided to go upstairs to put on socks. Once I pulled them on, I ran through the hallway and started down the stairs, but I stepped too far out on the edge of the first step and slipped the rest of the way down. I landed in the living room behind the couch with a thud. Mewtwo jumped slightly but did not turn to see what had happened.

“What are you doing?” he asked out loud.

“Just,” I stood up again, “walking in my fuzzy socks.”

He went back to watching TV. I tried to think of something to say, but he saved me the trouble by asking, “Who else resides here? This house does not belong to you, does it?”

“Actually, it’s my Aunt’s house. But she’s visiting my other Aunt in Hoenn for a few weeks, so we don’t need to worry about her coming here and seeing you.”

Mewtwo nodded. I shuffled a little closer to the couch and asked, “Uhm . . . do you need anything?”

“A glass of water would suffice,” he said.

“Sure,” I said, turning to go into the kitchen and get him some tap water.

“What? No, not that water. Do you really not have a spring nearby?” he asked, clearly disgusted by what I was about to do.

I stood there for a moment, not sure of what to do.

“I . . . don’t think so?”

“Fine, I will get it myself,” he sighed.

As he spoke, I heard the kitchen cabinet where the crystal glasses were kept open, and turned in time to see a tall, thin glass emerge. Suddenly, it vanished.

“Where’d it go?” I asked curiously.

“Wait,” Mewtwo said, eyes still glued to the screen.

Then as suddenly as it disappeared, it reappeared in front of Mewtwo full of water. He moved it closer to his mouth and drank it in one gulp.

“I sent it to a spring in the Hoenn Region,” he said when he finished, levitating the empty glass back to the kitchen.

“A spring? Which one?”

“It is located in that cave . . . next to what humans call Fallarbor Town. The water there is untouched.”

“Really? I never saw it when I was there,” I said, mildly surprised.

“It lies concealed under a rock.”

“ **Coming up next! I caught up with expert trainer Lilly yesterday and got lucky enough to ask her a few questions!** ” said Rich, the host of “A Day in the Life of a Trainer”.

“Hey, my interview’s on!” I said excitedly as I plopped myself on the couch next to Mewtwo. He shot me a look of irritation, but did not protest.

“ **Hello Lilly! Lovely weather we’re having today isn’t it?** ” Rich had greeted me cheerfully.

“ **It is! It’s a perfect day for training, right team?** ”

My Pokémon all grunted in harmony. I couldn’t keep from giggling at their response. Mewtwo snorted.

“ **I hate to interrupt your training session, but I’ve got a few questions for you that everyone is begging to hear answers to!** ”

“ **We’ve got a few minutes to spare! Ask away!** ” I had replied with a wave of my hand.

“ **How is a young person like you able to connect so deeply with her Pokémon and train them to grow so strong?** ”

I had thought carefully about my answer before replying.

“ **Well, to me, my Pokémon are my best friends! I would still be stuck in Littleroot Town if it hadn’t been for my very first Pokémon, Mudkip! We all work together to help each other become stronger, myself included!** ” I exclaimed.

**“Incredible! Next question: Which Pokémon is your favorite?”**

That one was not so hard for me to answer.

“ **I love all Pokémon, I have no favorites. Any shape, size, or type!”**

As I said that, my Arbok came up from behind and nudged my side with her big head. I had giggled again.

“ **Isn’t that just the sweetest thing? And now for my final question: Just how far are you and your Pokémon willing to go?** ”

“ **We’re not gonna stop till we’re the best of the best! Right team?!** ” I shouted enthusiastically.

The entire team roared and stomped in agreement.

“ **Amazing! Well there you have it folks, Lilly and her team won’t stop till they reach the top! I’m Rich Armstrong, and that’s the news now everyone knows!** ” 

After Rich spoke those words, the PokéMart commercial started playing.

“What’d you think? Am I on my way to stardom?” I asked Mewtwo.

“I think,” he said, “that was an absolutely pointless story.”

“Pointless?” I asked, a little hurt.

“Are there not more important things to alert humans of? How bored was this man?” Mewtwo continued, gesturing toward the TV as if Rich was still there.

Mewtwo finally looked at me and asked, “Why are you so passionate about Pokémon?”

I blinked, surprised that Rich had not asked me that question himself.

“Well, that’s a hard question,’ I sighed, trying hard to think of a real answer.

“I guess . . . each Pokémon has something different to offer. Even the same kinds of Pokémon have different personalities and strengths. There really is no end to the things you can learn about them, so I guess that’s why I love them so much.”

“I see,” was all he said in response.

We sat there for a few moments, staring at the commercial. Then Mewtwo spoke so quietly that I almost did not hear him.

“My wounds do not ache as greatly as they did previously . . . thank you.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised by the sudden gratitude, “it’s no problem. I’m glad to hear that you’re in less pain.”

There was another silence.

“After some consideration, I have decided . . . to stay here while I recover,” he added.

“Wait . . . really?” I asked, trying to disguise my shock.

“Yes. Clearly it is not my preference, but Ash did have a point. With the frequency of encounters he has with Team Rocket, it would only be a matter of time before they discover my location.”

I sighed, knowing fully well that he was right.

“In addition,” he added, “it is the least you can do after attacking me and taking me from the cave.”

I opened my mouth to protest what he had just said to me but closed it again and took a deep breath.

“You put a muzzle on, now? This is much less entertaining than it was a few hours ago,” he sighed, getting up from the couch.

“There’s a spare bed upstairs, you can sleep there,” I said, ignoring his remark, “I’ll show you where it is if you follow me.”

I walked, he flew, up the stairs, and made a right to the guest room. I went into the room and flopped onto the bed.  
“Well, this is it.”

I had not been in the room before that moment; I never had a reason to go inside. It was a small room, with pale yellow walls and a dark mahogany floor. The bed was in the far-right corner. There were two windows; one in the back of the room, and one on the wall facing the door. Lacey white drapes hung from each frame, and there was a white dresser on the left side of the room. The blankets on the bed were white like the drapes.

I looked at Mewtwo, because to my surprise he had not made a comment during the time I was looking around. He was also examining the room, but with a look of mild disgust on his face.

“You don’t like it?” I asked, swinging my feet off the side of the bed.

“It . . . it will do. A room is a room.”

“It’s the yellow walls, isn’t it?”

He ignored me and went to look out the window on the far side of the room.

“Uhm . . . I can try to change it if Arceus will let me,” I thought aloud.

“That really—”

I stood up before he could finish his sentence.

“Too late, I’m already doing it.”

I walked toward the opposite wall, touched it with my hand, and closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, my hand was against a black wall.

“This is perfect,” Mewtwo said quickly.

I turned around and looked at what I had created. The windows still let the moonlight in, but everything was black with the exception of the lamp on the black dresser.

“I guess all you’re good for is redecorating,” I sighed, looking down at my dimly glowing Opal.

The small lamp suddenly flicked on. I looked at Mewtwo curiously and saw him looking around the room, his face still as blank as it was before. I had no idea what it was that attracted him to the dark, but after a moment his eyes lit up ever so slightly at my redecorating work.

But the white blanket was still on the black bed. 

“Never mind that,” he said as I the thought crossed my mind, “I have no use for a . . . blanket.”

The blanket lifted off the bed, neatly folded itself, and whizzed out of the room.

“It lies on your bed,” Mewtwo answered the questioning look on my face.

“Oh.”

I looked down at the floor, which was also black.

“Beginning immediately, I will rest for the next several days,” Mewtwo said, moving toward the bed.

“Wait, several days? But—”

“During this period, you are not to disturb me under any circumstances,” he continued, still facing the bed, “is that understood?”

“But it’s not good to stay so still—”

“Is that understood?” he repeated, looking back toward me.

I opened my mouth to retort that I would probably need to change his bandages, but I reminded myself that arguing with him was pointless.

“With the exception of dressing my wounds,” he added suddenly, reading my thoughts again, “which you will do every twelve hours until I have recovered enough to begin healing myself.”

“You got it,” I sighed, trying not to roll my eyes.

“That will be all, then.”

I watched him get onto the bed, flinching as he did so, before I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was that tired as I took pajamas from the draw in my room and walked to the bathroom. But when I saw my face in the mirror, I quickly decided to take a shower.

I was only in there for all of two minutes before turning off the water and putting on my pajamas.

_I thought you said nobody else was living here,_ he said.

_No, it’s just you and I here,_ I thought back, still mildly irritated.

_There is somebody else in this room,_ he replied.

I bolted out of bed and ran to his room, throwing open the door and turning on the light. To my surprise, there was nobody else in the room.

I shot him a look of annoyance and asked, “Are you trying to play a prank on me? I’m exhausted, I’m in no mood for games.”

“I do not play games,” he said.

“Then why is there nobody except you and I in here?”

“I swear it, she was standing right next to me,” Mewtwo said, his voice sounding uneasy.

“She? A woman was in here?” I asked, tilting my head to one side.

“Well, no. She was a little girl with green eyes and hair. Perhaps a few years younger than yourself. Do you have any siblings?”

“I’m an only child, and I . . . don’t think I’ve ever seen a girl with green hair in my entire life,” I said, growing more confused by the minute.

“Are you sure you didn’t just dream her up?”

“No, she was definitely here. She was wearing a white dress, and she stood there looking at me like she knew who I was,” he insisted.

I walked over to him and lightly pressed the back of my hand to his forehead.

“I do _not_ have a fever. I swear she was here!” he practically growled.

“I never said you were,” I said quickly, withdrawing my hand.

“I can hear all your thoughts,” he reminded me for the second time that night.

I looked around the room one more time, bewildered by what had just come to pass. “Just . . . call me if you see her again. I really think you were just dreaming—”

“I have never dreamed before, so that would be impossible,” he said flatly.

I looked at him quizzically in response.

“You’ve never had a dream? Not even once?”

“I have not.”

I stared at him for a minute, then shook my head.

“You’re the weirdest Pokémon I’ve ever met,” I sighed, turning to shut off the light.

“You are the weirdest human I have ever met,” he said in reply while my back was turned.

I paused and looked over my shoulder, then said in my most deadpan voice, “It only gets weirder from here.”

Mewtwo’s brow creased in confusion.

“Was that supposed to be a threat?” he asked.

“No, nothing, good night,” I said quickly, closing the door behind me.


	10. New Housemate

Chapter 10: New Housemate

Keeping quiet around the house was easy while it was just us for the first two days. The only thing Mewtwo permitted me to do for him was to change his bandages; I was not even allowed to speak to him while doing that. Immediately after taping the final edge of gauze, he would send me back downstairs. I was too nervous to leave the house during this time, so I watched a lot of televised Pokémon battles and contests. “Excuse me,” a voice said.  
I screamed and slipped in my surprise, falling into the bathtub with a thud. “Ouch!” Carefully getting to my feet, I quickly turned the water off and peeked around the shower curtain. Mewtwo was standing in the bathroom with a look of irritation on his face. “Mewtwo!” I shouted, ducking behind the curtain again.  
“What are you—”  
“You can’t just appear in the bathroom when I have the door closed! Or in any room!”  
“But—”  
“That’s why we have a door, so no one can come in while I’m showering! Or doing anything in here,” I added quickly.   
“I—”  
“Get out into the hallway!” I cut him off once more, closing the curtain completely.  
I heard him sigh dramatically, then there was a silence indicating that he had left. I finished showering, then wrapped a towel around myself and opened the door, surprised that he was actually still waiting there for me.  
“What is it? I thought you wanted to rest so badly,” I said irritably, rubbing my head where I had hit it.  
“What was that noise?” he asked.  
“I . . . you mean that thud? You surprised me, I slipped and smacked my head,” I said, confused.  
“No, that . . . that humming noise,” Mewtwo said.  
“You heard that?” I asked, a little astonished.   
“I have excellent hearing,” Mewtwo said impatiently, waiting for an answer.   
“I was just singing to myself,” I said, not really knowing what he was talking about.  
“It was you?” he asked, his surprise thinly disguised.  
“Yeah . . . why?”  
“Never mind. Just . . . stop doing that, I need to rest,” was all he said in reply.   
He shook his head and drifted back to his room. By then I was finished washing up anyway; I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and walked into my own room. I flopped into my bed and was just about to fall into a deep slumber when Mewtwo spoke inside my head and made me jump awake.  
On the third day, I received a message from the Pokémon Center saying that my Pokémon were ready to be picked up. At first I was worried that they would all be unhappy with me for letting them down during the last battle, but I walked in they were all waiting for me in the lobby. Ampharos was the first to run over and hug me, and everybody else followed suit. When we walked outside of the building, I broke the news to them that Mewtwo would be staying with us for a while.  
Of course, there were a lot of protests at first.  
“Wait, you’re letting him stay with us? After what he did?!” Gyarados had roared, slapping her tail on the ground in anger.  
It was drizzling outside, but I was thankful that I decided to do this before going back home to Pallet Town; Mewtwo would have been furious about the commotion for sure.  
“Gyarados, not so loud!” I aggressively hissed, “nobody can know that we have him with us.”   
“Is this only for a few days? How long do we have to keep him?” Ampharos asked uneasily.   
“It’s just until he’s strong enough to protect himself! Then he’ll be gone, it’ll be like none of this ever happened,” I explained, trying to calm her down.  
“Lilly, is there any possibility that Ash could look after Mewtwo instead?” Ninetails asked patiently, though she was squinting her eyes in the light rain, “He put us through a lot, I don’t know how I feel about living under the same roof as someone who tried to kill me.”  
I sighed before responding, “I know he did, and he tried to kill me too. But Ash is constantly getting chased by Team Rocket, so we thought that Mewtwo would be safer with us while he’s recovering.”  
“I think you’re doing the right thing.”  
Togekiss came to my side and continued, “We all fought hard and risked a lot to get him out of Cerulean Cave. We should see this through to the end!”  
“I’m with Lilly on thisssss one, too,” Arbok added quietly.  
We all turned to look at her, startled that she said something.  
“If Team Rocket catchessssss him again, everything we went through will have been completely pointlessssss.”  
“Thank you, Arbok,” I said warmly.  
“Fine, whatever, as long as I don’t have to look at his mug,” Gyarados muttered, looking sullen.  
“Well, you definitely don’t have to worry about that right now . . .”  
When I sheepishly told them that we had to be silent in and around the house, there were audible groans from everybody.  
A few more days passed, all in silence. I still did not want to leave the house while Mewtwo was there by himself, but I could tell that my Pokémon were beginning to get antsy from being cooped up. It was raining outside anyway, so I kept using that as an excuse for not leaving the house to train.   
“Lilly, the rain has never stopped you from training before,” Ampharos had quietly groaned at me on the fifth day.  
“Well I wouldn’t want to get sick while I’m looking after somebody whose life is in my hands, you know,” I had retorted with more edge than necessary.  
Though I didn’t want to it seemed as though being stuck at home was beginning to get to me as well. When the next day came and I had to change his dressings again, I finally steeled my courage and went upstairs to confront Mewtwo about getting out of bed. Despite my best efforts, he was absolutely insistent on remaining in the dark, using the same argument about regaining his energy and trying to heal himself a bit.  
“But you have to move around!” I had said, turning on the lamp in an attempt to change his mind, “It would be good for you.”  
“Are you the scientist who created me? I think I know what I need to recover my strength,” Mewtwo grumbled back a sarcastic reply, lying on the bed with his back toward me.  
“You seem pretty healthy to me,” I said, doing my utmost to suppress the annoyed tone creeping into my voice.  
“Extinguish the light. I will come out when I am ready,” he said as he flicked his tail impatiently.  
Frustrated, I shut the light off and left the room.  
On the morning of the seventh day, I woke up to sunlight shining through the window of my bedroom. Excited by the possibility of finally leaving the house that day, I rolled out of bed and went straight to Mewtwo’s room to see what his condition was like.   
“Mewtwo,” I called, opening the door, “you should get up today! The weather is much. . .”   
When I walked into the room, it looked as though there was nobody resting on the bed. I flicked on the light switch and saw that I was right; there was nobody on the bed at all.  
“Mewtwo?” I called, suddenly nervous.  
I looked around the room frantically, confused by his sudden disappearance. I checked inside the closet, behind the door, and even under the bed, but there was no sign of him at all. I ran out into the hallway again and in my haste almost slipped down the stairs.  
I clumsily stumbled into the living room and shouted, “Everybody, wake up! I can’t find Mewtwo anywhere!”   
Togekiss, who was sleeping on the couch, squawked when he sat up. Ninetails, in the kitchen, made the floor rumble when she got to her feet. Arbok snorted when her small eyelids flew open. Ampharos jumped up with a cry.  
“What do you mean, ‘can’t find him’? He’s been sleeping in the same spot for days,” Togekiss tweeted sleepily.  
“I mean he’s not in his room! Are you sure you didn’t hear him come down here?”  
“I would certainly know if I saw his royal highness come down here,” Ninetails grumbled, irritated about being woken up.  
“I haven’t heard him at all, come to think of it,” Ampharos lazily stretched her short, thick legs.  
“Why are you panicking, Lilly?” Arbok asked.  
“Arbok . . .” Ampharos started.  
“What? He’sss probably fine. He can take care of himsssself.”  
In my panic, I spun around and addressed Arbok angrily.  
“Do you know what’ll happen to him if Team Rocket find him before I do, Arbok?”  
Arbok’s eyes widened, and Ninetails began to warn me instead when she said, “Lilly—”  
“They’ll kill him! He won’t even have time to vanish before they unleash their secret weapon, especially since he’s still injured! And it’ll be my fault if he—”  
“It is a bit early to be shouting this loudly, is it not?”   
Startled, I turned around to see who had asked that.  
I gasped and sighed with relief, almost at the same time.  
“Mewtwo!”  
He was massaging the sides of his head with his fingertips, closing his eyes.  
“What . . . on Earth . . . is all the yelling about?” Mewtwo growled.  
“I . . . but . . . you—”   
“I thought I told you I wanted to rest!”  
“Hey, you’re the one who was hiding from us!” Ninetails growled in response.  
“Lilly practically had a panic attack looking for you! She’s constantly worried about your safety, how did you think she would react if you disappeared suddenly?”  
“Don’t you sssstart complaining!” Arbok spat.  
“Yeah!” Ampharos chimed in.  
“Hey guys,” I said, turning around to look at my Pokémon again, “I’m sure there’s a reason why Mewtwo wasn’t around—”  
“You say that I was hiding?”   
Mewtwo grunted in amusement, then followed with, “Nonsense. I was asleep on the bed, but—”  
“But I checked there!” I protested, looking back at him.  
“. . . but I was invisible,” he finished finally.  
I stared at him for a moment before asking, “Why?”  
“I woke up invisible. I could not have been in that state for longer than a few minutes, as I would still be exhausted. It happens on occasion.”  
“. . . Oh.”  
“Wait . . . you were invisible?” Togekiss chirruped.  
“Correct. I was not,” he glared at Ninetails, “hiding . . .”  
Ninetails returned the glare, but she was no match for Mewtwo. I’m not sure anyone could have matched his glare.  
“So Mewtwo,” I said, trying to break the tension between them, “the team’s feeling much better, and they’ve been itching to get out and train again. Since you’re looking . . . somewhat healthier, do you want to join us?”  
Mewtwo’s look softened just enough to not kill me when he turned his attention back my way.  
“Where is it that you are planning on going?” he asked after a moment.  
“Oh, ah . . . perhaps the Sevi Islands?”  
“The Sevi Islands? Why?”  
“Are you kidding? It’s sssssso much fun to train there!” Arbok exclaimed.  
“Especially with all the strong Pokemon to fight!” Ampharos squeaked.  
“And not a lot of people visit that area of Kanto, so I think you would be safe if you came along. But if you don’t think you’re well enough to come with us today—”  
“What do you mean, ‘not well enough’?”  
Oh jeez, I thought to myself.  
“I just meant—”  
“Are you suggesting that I am weak?”  
As he asked that, his eyes flickered blue for a moment.  
“I just don’t want you overdoing it, Mewtwo,” I said quickly, putting my hands up protectively.   
He seemed to relax a little when I said that.  
“Overdoing it?”  
“You’ve recovered a lot, but your injuries are probably still healing. I would hate for something to happen and for them to get worse, but . . .”  
I glanced outside the window near the front door before finishing with, “I think the sunshine would do you some good!”  
I turned my attention back to him and chuckled when I added, “I know that we’re trying to hide you from Team Rocket and that you like the dark, but it’s not like you’re a cave Pokémon. We should get you outside!”  
He looked down at himself when I made eye contact with him, seemingly to examine his own condition.   
“Well at the very least, I am now strong enough to deflect attacks,” he said finally.   
“An excursion with you and your Pokémon should be fine.”


	11. Downpour

####  Chapter 11: Downpour

A short while later, the six of us were strolling down Kindle Road toward Mt. Ember. We would have gotten there much sooner if Mewtwo had not fought me tooth and nail about getting back into his Pokéball for the trip there.

“You are not being serious, are you?” he asked me the moment I pulled it out.

“What, the Pokéball?” I asked, looking at it.

“You expect me to go back in there?”

“It’s just until we get to the island, you can’t get yourself there yet, right?”

“Forget it. I would not be caught dead in a Pokéball ever again, that was humiliating,” he grunted, turning his nose in the air.

“If you hadn’t been so stubborn, you could have been in an Ultra Ball instead!” I shot back.

“If you were a better trainer, you could have caught me in an Ultra Ball sooner,” he said, turning around and floating back to the house.

“We were trying not to hurt you!” I called after him.

Unexpectedly, he stopped.

“You’ll be out before you know it,” I continued.

He sighed and turned around to come back toward me.

“Fine, but only for today,” he grumbled, stopping once he was within range of the Pokéball.

It was the first sunny day in about a week; not even Mewtwo’s tantrum was enough to dampen my mood. He was silent as he glided alongside us, eyes slightly narrowed from the bright sunlight. I stopped skipping and looked back at him to ask, “See? Isn’t it such a nice day?”

“It is . . . incredibly sunny.”

“Does it make you happy? Aren’t you glad you came?”

“No. In fact, my eyes are tired of squinting.”

“Well, it makes me happy!”

Mewtwo gently shook his head. I ran ahead of him and jumped onto Arbok. She hissed indignantly and pretended that I had actually taken her down by abruptly falling to the ground.

“Oof!” I grunted when I rolled off of her back.

“Actually . . .”

His voice sounded a little distant when he said, “I think it might rain soon.”

“What?” I gasped.

I turned to look back at Mewtwo, who had finally caught up to Arbok and I.

“Don’t say that! It just finished raining!” I groaned.

He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t quite make out. Then the whole of his eyes turned blue as he slowly raised one of his hands and began turning it in circles. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him expectantly, but nothing changed.

Suddenly, dark clouds immediately covered the bright blue sky, blocking out the sunlight. The gentle breeze turned into a strong, howling wind that uprooted small plants and scattered them around the path.

It was then that heavy rain and lightning began to fall from the clouds. The rain felt like sharp, frozen needles on my skin. The lightning illuminated the dark sky, and the thunder was louder than our yells as my Pokemon and I quickly hurried toward the hot springs cavern. Once we were safely away from the storm, I looked outside and saw Mewtwo chuckling to himself with a force-field shrouding him, protecting his injuries from the stinging raindrops.

“ _Wait, where’s Gyarados_?” Ninetails asked suddenly.

After looking around for a moment, I started frantically calling her name. Ampharos giggled and pointed outside with her paw. I followed her gaze and saw that Gyarados was slithering about and opening her huge mouth to let the raindrops in.

I was furious with Mewtwo for pulling this prank; not because he got me sopping wet, but because Kindle Road is home to a variety of fire-type Pokémon that would not have had time to find shelter to escape this sudden storm. I went to the mouth of the cavern and called for Mewtwo to come to where I was standing. Still laughing, he drifted over to the cave and took the force-field off.

“What’s the matter? Afraid of a little lightning?” he asked, his voice patronizing.

Shivering violently, I pushed my soaked hair from my eyes and said, “Th-this is not f-funny! Y-you’re going to h-hurt th-the f-fire-types that l-l-live here!”

“Is that so? But look, Gyarados seems to enjoy it,” he chuckled, gesturing toward the gleeful Pokémon rolling in the mud outside the cave. I had to smile too, but it quickly vanished when I saw a wild Rapidash gallop past the entrance as it desperately searched for shelter.

“M-Mewtwo, please m-make th-the storm g-go aw-way. P-Pokémon are g-getting hurt,” I begged him as I began to hug myself in vain, trying to keep warm. Ninetails shook the water droplets off of her fur and moved close to me, wrapping her long tails around my body. I was almost instantly dried.

Mewtwo seemed to be growing annoyed when he asked, “Why am I being chastised by a child? I was just trying to enjoy the day as you were.”

“You’re being what?”

He sighed and pressed his fingertips to his temples, “Why are you angry with me when you were the one who insisted that I go outside? Am I not permitted to enjoy myself?”

“Mewtwo, you’re hurting other Pokemon,” I said sternly, “You can’t think that’s fun!”

“Perhaps I do,” he said stubbornly.

“Fine! Stay here and be useless, I don’t need you to do anything!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the cavern walls.

I ran past him and out into the storm, where I heard the various cries of Pokémon as they frantically searched for shelter from the sudden hurricane.

I threw my pack on the ground and cupped my hands around my mouth.

“Lugiaaaaaa!”

There was no response for a moment. Then, I heard a faint cry in the distance.

“Lugiaaaaaaaa!” I called again.

“ _Giaaaaa_!”

The rain was pounding against my back, the lightning threatened to strike the waterlogged ground below my feet. I called once more, and this time I saw him leap out of the water and spread his wings out wide. When lightning struck the ocean, his skin shimmered in the light. He landed in front of me with a thud, looking perplexed by what was happening.

“Lugia, can you get rid of this storm?!” I shouted over the din of the thunder.

“ _Who created this?_ ” his loud cry boomed as he looked around.

“ _This is no ordinary storm. Did you do this?_ ”

“No, it wasn’t me, I can’t do this! One of my Pokémon did it! Can you make it go away before it floods the path?!” I shrieked as I noticed I was standing in at least six inches of chilly water.

“ _Which Pokémon? Why can’t they dispel the storm themselves?_ ” he insisted.

“Lugia, please!”

Lugia nodded, spreading his giant wings once more and rising up into the dark sky. He circled around the island for a moment, then began singing a heart- wrenching song. His voice echoed through the island, and perhaps the neighboring islands heard it as well. I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as I felt the rain became softer. When I opened them again, I saw that the sky was beginning to clear up too.

The freezing rainwater quickly drained away from around my ankles and into the ocean nearby. In under a minute, the sky was blue, the sun was shining brightly, and the warm breeze gently ruffled my soaking hair. I saw Lugia taking off in the distance.

“Thank you!” I cried after him.

“Giiiiaaaaa!” he cried back.

Lugia’s figure slowly faded into the horizon. I watched him go, still in awe that such a beautiful and powerful creature could really exist.

“It appears as though that was too much for you to handle.”

I jumped in surprise and turned to find the speaker. Mewtwo was hovering behind me quietly, wearing a smug look on his face.

“What are you talking about? And you’re not on my good side right now, you know,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

“I was waiting for you to make it go away,” he said simply.

I felt my eyebrows furrow together in confusion.

“You were what?”

“I wanted to see you dispel the storm yourself. But it seems as though you needed another Pokémon to do it for you, as I expected.”

He turned and began to float down the road again.

“I . . . you know I could have done it!” I argued, catching up to him and blocking his path, “But I already told you, my powers don’t always work! Arceus says I’m too young to use them.”

“But you did not even attempt . . . to . . .”

I noticed Mewtwo’s eyes flicker from my face to my chest as he was finishing that sentence. I followed his gaze and noticed that my Opal had begun to glow faintly.

“Oh, _now_ you want to do something to help?” I muttered to it indignantly.

I sighed when I saw it grew even brighter, almost as if to spite me. I sighed, then thought for a moment before coming up with an idea.

I raised my arm and slowly drew it across the sky. Seven distinct colors followed the motion of my hand, and soon there was a massive rainbow over Kindle Road. Mewtwo’s eyes widened in amazement as he flew up to get a closer look. I laughed to myself as I watched him zoom around the mirage. He even flew through it a couple of times, I had to cover my mouth to keep my laughter quiet.

He landed next to me again, still examining what I had created.

“See? I have control sometimes,” I said, looking up at him.

He thought for a moment before replying.

“Well, rainbows _are_ common occurrences after storms,” he said in response.

“What?! You saw me do it!” I protested.

“Coincidence,” he said, waving his hand and starting down the path again.

“I did that, and you know it!” I called out after him, following from behind.

“Yeah, yeah, so you can make rainbows. How is that going to protect you?”

I stopped walking.

“Protect . . . me?” I asked.

He stopped hovering a few paces ahead and looked over his shoulder.

“With the power that you demonstrated when we met, you could have easily taken me by yourself in that cave, even without the help of your Pokémon.”

I stammered for a moment before saying, “Y-you know I—”

“I know. But you could have.”

He turned around and began to hover again.

“It is nice, being able to control whatever you want at the twist of your wrist. I can help you unlock that power if you will allow me to.”

I finally caught up and walked beside him.

“How?”

“First, you will need to trust me enough to tell me about Arceus.”

“I’ll . . . need a lot more time for that,” I said, looking at the ground again.

“Fair enough. I did try to kill you, after all.”

“Wait . . . if you’re asking me to trust you . . .”

I looked back up at him, my face smug.

“What?” he asked, clearly unnerved by the look I was giving him.

“Does this mean . . . _you_ trust me?”

“Of course not,” he said quickly, rolling his eyes and looking away from my gaze.

“Then why do you want to help me? What do you get out of this?”

“My curiosity knows no bounds, as you already know. I simply want to see what you can do.”

He looked at me again, his eyes glimmering the slightest bit with excitement, “I want to see that power once again.”

“You want me to fight you?!” I gasped.

“Do not think of it as fighting. Think of it more as . . . sparring.”

He gazed ahead at the path once more.

“It has been a while since I had such an encounter.”


	12. The Safari Zone

####  Chapter 12: The Safari Zone

As time went by, Mewtwo gradually became more relaxed around my Pokémon and me. This early period was interesting, because each day he would do something else that I would never, in a million years, expect him to do.

Just to give an example, there was one day when I walked downstairs to make breakfast. I almost jumped out of my skin when I turned the corner and saw that he was already in the kitchen, casually drinking water.

On most days, it would only surprise me a little that he was out of bed before I was; but when I saw him that morning, I could not help but react that way and continue to stare at him. He was just drinking water, but the way he was doing it was so odd that it caught me off guard at the time. He was standing by the sink and using his psychic abilities to move the water directly from the faucet and into his mouth.

When he noticed that I was staring, he quickly turned off the tap and accidentally let the water drop to the floor.

“I . . . guess the whole drinking from a spring thing got old for you?” I asked, intrigued.

“Well . . . I . . . this is much more efficient than using a glass and sending it to Hoenn, obviously,” he said, avoiding eye contact.

I had just laughed as he lifted the water off the floor and put it back in the sink.  
During the time that Mewtwo was resting in bed, I took several precautions to ensure that no other trainers, aside from Ash, would know that I was protecting him. This became difficult to maintain when we would go out of the house occasionally; to my surprise, Mewtwo would often want to come along. He managed to do this by staying invisible for the entire duration of the outing.

“You know,” I remarked once as he followed Ampharos and I around Vermillion City one day, “you didn’t have to come with us today. Didn’t you say that staying invisible gets tiring for you after a while?”

_Think of this as a type of training for me,_ he had said, dodging another person who walked a little too close to me.

_The more I do this, the more accustomed I become to staying invisible for extended periods of time._

At that point I had shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”

He had started eating dinner with me and my other Pokémon a few weeks after he arrived. Slowly but surely, his mannerisms toward me became a lot less agitated. Ash would hang out with us every few days to check up on Mewtwo. Though they kept their distance, I could tell that even my Pokémon were beginning to like and respect him as well. Sometimes when we took a break from training, I would catch Mewtwo sparring with Gyarados or Ninetails.

About a month and a half since capturing him, I asked Mewtwo if he wanted to come with me to the Safari Zone.

“The Safari Zone?”

He put a hand to his chin for a moment as he thought, then said, “That sounds like a place where children go to play while their parents work.”

“No,” I sighed, “it’s a place where you can go catch all kinds of rare Pokémon that you can’t find just by walking around Kanto.”

“Keeping Pokémon in a place against their will? Now it sounds like a zoo,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, it’s not a zoo either. It’s . . . more like a park. The Pokémon have plenty of space to roam around and live.”

“Will you be taking your entire team to battle them? How strong are the Pokémon that live there?”

“Actually, that’s the fun part!” I said, beginning to become excited, “You don’t battle them with Pokémon, you just . . . catch them!”

Mewtwo looked at me curiously before asking, “Capturing Pokémon without fighting them? How is it done?”

“Well,” I said, “The staff teaches us a few methods before each person goes in for the first time. For example, if you throw a rock at—”

“Throw a rock?!” Mewtwo repeated in disbelief.

“Not so it hurts them!” I added quickly.

Once Mewtwo calmed down, he asked me to continue.

“So,” I began again, “if you throw a rock at them, the Pokémon you’re facing will get angry; they become less likely to flee, but more difficult to catch. But if you throw food instead, they are less likely to stick around, but easier to catch,” I recited.

“That does sound intriguing, actually.”

“Since I don’t need Pokémon to battle for this, do you want to just come along to watch?”

“Certainly,” Mewtwo said, getting off the couch and standing on his feet.

Most of his wounds were gone, and he was becoming stronger by the day. There was only the long scar that went down his right side that remained.

“Alright, let’s make like a tree and leaf!” I said cheerfully, starting for the door.

I heard Mewtwo sigh loudly behind me as he followed.

We walked out the door, and that was when I realized that we would need to fly there. I was about to summon Togekiss when Mewtwo suddenly said, “We do not need Togekiss. Teleport there with me, instead.”

I looked at him in surprise; he had never offered to do that before.

“Are you able to do that yet?” I asked.

He looked at me as though I had just insulted him before responding, “Of course I am. I regained that ability almost immediately after I rested.”

“But, don’t you need to know where you’re going before you teleport somewhere? I thought that was how it worked,” I said aloud, mostly to myself.

“There you go, underestimating me again,” he said, placing a hand on my head.

Before I could even respond, I was looking at the Safari building. I turned to look at Mewtwo, but he was nowhere in sight.

_Are you going in?_ I heard him ask, _I will follow behind you._

“I need to get you a bell or something,” I sighed as I started for the front door.

_I am the world’s most powerful Pokémon, not a pet_ , he practically spat the word “pet” at me.

“I was kidding! Jeez, lighten up,” I laughed.

_Hmph._

_Okay, so today,_ I said as I slowly strolled toward the front desk, _I’m here to catch a Tauros._

_A Tauros?_ Mewtwo repeated.

_Yeah._ _They run away super quickly, so I haven’t caught one yet._

_But, those are easy to capture. I was able to procure many of those Pokémon for Team Rocket—_

_Well, not all of us can use psychic powers to catch Pokémon!_

“Excuse me, are you here to catch Pokémon?” a voice asked.

I looked up and realized that I was already standing at the check-in counter; the receptionist must have seen me make a face or something.

“Uh, y-yes,” I stammered awkwardly, trying to change how I was talking, “one pass please!”

“Coming right up! That’ll be 500P,” she said cheerily.

I pulled out some bills from my back pocket and placed them on the counter. She handed me a pass and a small bag containing 30 Safari balls.

“Do you need me to go over the rules? I recognize you, so that’s probably a no,” the receptionist laughed.

“Nope, I’ve done this a few times,” I smiled.

“Alright, then good luck! Happy catching!”

“Thank you!” I said, starting to feel excited again.

I ran ahead through the doors and into the Safari Zone. Once inside, I paused and looked around to make sure that Mewtwo had followed.

“I do not sense any humans nearby, so I will become visible now,” he said aloud.

“Fine by me,” I said, starting forward again.

Mewtwo appeared on my left side and followed me as I started into the park.

“Actually, I would like to examine this area more closely,” he decided, heading off in a different direction.

“Wait, Mewtwo, we should stick together,” I said in response, suddenly nervous.

“Why? There are only a few humans here, and I doubt any of them are working for Team Rocket.”

“Well . . . alright, but stay close,” I said, still not fully believing that this was a good idea.

“I will,” he said as he drifted off through the trees.

“A-and tell me if you see a Tauros!” I called after him.

He did not respond, but I knew he must have heard me.

Trying to stop worrying about being separated, I fully immersed myself in the search for Tauros. I knew that they liked to live in the deepest part of the Safari Zone, so I began to head in that direction.

After about half an hour of quietly trekking through the park, I recognized the old cabin and realized that I had reached its center.

“Let’s see,” I said to myself, looking around, “if I were a Tauros, where would I be hiding?”

I suddenly remembered that Mewtwo had come with me, and that I had not heard from him since we initially went our separate ways.

“Hey, Mewtwo?” I called, the nerves coming back.

There was no response.

“You were supposed to stay close by!” I sighed to myself, looking around for any sign of him.

I decided that I was too worried to focus on finding Tauros, so I turned around and started back the way I came. I had only taken three steps before I stopped dead in my tracks: there was a Tauros blocking the path back toward the entrance of the Safari Zone. I gasped and tried to not make any sudden movements, but I could hardly contain my excitement.

“A real Tauros,” I whispered, reaching into the bag to pull out some bait.

The Tauros looked angry; its tails were whipping about as it pawed at the ground with its front hoof.

“Easy there,” I said, slowly walking toward him with a piece of bait in my hand.

His eyes shifted from me to the bait and back again, and one of his tails had relaxed behind him; the other two were still going full force.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.”

I tossed the bait close to the Pokémon and slowly backed away several feet. Tauros flinched back when it left my hand, then took a few steps forward towards the bait. He nibbled on it, then ate the whole piece of food.

“That’s right,” I said calmly, pulling out a Safari Ball.

Just as he was about to return his attention to me, I activated and tossed the Safari Ball toward him. The Tauros was captured and the Safari Ball fell to the ground.

I knew it was too early to celebrate, so I waited to see if the capture would be complete.

The ball shook once, twice, and then—

“Did you find a Tauros?” Mewtwo’s voice sounded, “I have already seen several thus far, there should definitely be one around here somewhere.”

The Pokéball burst open and Tauros was back with us. When he saw Mewtwo, he grunted in surprise and took off running toward the trees.

“Ugh! I was so close,” I sighed, putting my hands over my face in frustration.

“Was?”

I looked up, confused by his response.

“I mean, it went over there, right?” Mewtwo asked, indicating the direction the Tauros had just fled in.

“Well yeah, but—"

“Why not follow this one?”

“You don’t want to annoy the same Tauros too much,” I said dejectedly, starting on a new path to try again, “they might get angry and charge, it can be dangerous.”

“Well, that is a risk worth taking. You will not find the other ones as easily,” he insisted.

I turned to look at him, and though his face was as deadpan as usual I could see a hint of excitement in his eyes.

“Fine, we’ll follow the Tauros,” I said, turning back around and jogging in the general direction that he went in.

“Is that your fastest pace? You will never catch up to it,” Mewtwo scoffed from behind me.

I turned around to ask what he meant, but he had already zoomed ahead of me and into the dense wood.


	13. The Chase

“Hey, we have to stick together!” I cried, picking up the pace.

I ran as fast as I could through the woods, trying to keep Mewtwo’s tail in my sight.

“You’re going too fast, wait up!” I gasped, quickly losing steam.

_This is not even my fastest. Keep up with me!_ he said back, showing no sign of slowing down.

I groaned and kept running, but I failed to notice the gnarled root sticking out of the ground. Without warning, I tripped and skidded across the dirt before coming to a stop. I laid there for a moment, my arms and knees smarting from the scratches.

“That jerk,” I grunted, pushing myself off the ground.

I dusted myself off and started after him again, this time moving at a leisurely pace as I scanned the ground for more roots.

_Lilly, hurry, I have him cornered,_ Mewtwo’s voice sounded in my head.

“Ugh!” I exclaimed, breaking into a jog again.

When I reached the clearing, I saw Mewtwo floating a few feet off the ground and Tauros backed into a corner. But something was weird; the Tauros was angrily flailing about like a Magikarp.

“Mewtwo, what happened?” I said uncertainly.

“What do you mean? This is the Tauros that you were trying to capture a few minutes ago,” he said.

“I know, but what’s wrong with it?”

“I was keeping it in this spot until you arrived,” Mewtwo said, waving his hand, “you are most welcome, by the way.”

“Mewtwo, I . . . I didn’t ask you to do that!” I exclaimed, shocked.

“Well I know, but I thought it would be more—”

“I told you we can’t attack Pokémon in the Safari Zone!” I added, looking at him angrily.

“I was not _attacking_ him. I was merely holding him down. Do you want to capture it or not?” he asked, his own voice becoming irritated.

“No, I don’t want to catch it like this! That ruins the whole point of the Safari Zone!”

“Fine, I will release him then,” he sighed.

Before I could tell him not to, Mewtwo lifted his psychic power on the Tauros. Realizing that he was free, he quickly stood up and faced us, bleating angrily.

“Somebody does not look happy,” Mewtwo remarked.

I stood rooted to the spot, quickly realizing the danger we were in.

“Mewtwo, don’t move,” I whispered, keeping my eyes locked on Tauros.

“Relax,” he insisted, “I can teleport us to safety.”

Tauros let out a loud cry and began charging toward us.

“Wh-what are you waiting for?” I shouted.

A moment later, I realized that its intended target was actually Mewtwo, who showed no sign of doing anything to protect himself.

“I cannot,” he admitted at last, “my abilities are not working at this time.”

“What?! But you were just . . . ugh!”

Without hesitation, I dropped my duffel bag and rushed toward him, facing the Tauros and spreading my arms wide.

“Tauros, stop!” I cried.

A second before I was about to be gored by his horns, everything turned a shade of purple. Then there was a loud bang and the Tauros was knocked flying back several feet away from us.

“What the . . .”

I did not have time to turn to Mewtwo and ask what was going on before the Tauros charged toward us again, but he was knocked flying back once more.

“Have you lost your mind?” I heard Mewtwo ask behind me, his voice angry, “You just threw yourself in front of an angry Tauros like that, with no protection whatsoever? What on _Earth_ made you think that would work?”

I turned to look at him, unable to disguise the annoyance on my face when I asked, “Does this mean could have teleported us this whole time? Why didn’t you?”

I jumped when I heard the Tauros ricochet off of the force field again.

“I was giving you a chance to protect us with your own powers.”

“For the love of . . . what will it take for you to realize that I don’t have control over those yet?!” I shouted at him.

“Are you going to continue to chastise me, or are you going to capture this Tauros?”

“While he’s charging at us? Are you crazy? Just get us out of here, this is too dangerous!”

“Well now he is angry enough, correct? Did you not say that Pokémon are easier to capture when angered?”

I sighed, took a deep breath, then said, “Okay. After this next time, take down the force field and I’ll throw a Safari Ball.”

“Right.”

The Tauros was eyeing us from several feet away, trying to figure out how to penetrate the shield. Once I had a Safari Ball in my hand, I held it up and cried out, “Now, Mewtwo!”

Mewtwo lifted the shield and Tauros charged us again.

“Safari Ball, go!”

I threw it at him, and he was drawn inside.

“Get ready, in case he pops out,” I said.

We waited, watching in anticipation as the Safari Ball shook violently. After a few seconds, it laid still and clicked shut.

“It . . . it worked!” I exclaimed, shocked.

I ran over to the Safari Ball and picked it up in my hand. Smiling to myself, I stowed it in my bag.

“And you,” I said, looking at Mewtwo as I started to walk back toward the entrance, “don’t lie to me again about your powers not working. I would prefer to not be turned into a human kabob.”

“I did not put you in front of me; that was entirely your own doing,” he said, floating beside me. 

“I’m just saying that if you really want to help me understand my powers or whatever, can you at least do it in places where neither of us is about to die?”

“I would not have died, but, you on the other hand . . .”

“Mewtwo, I don’t know what kind of hits you can—”

As I was talking to him, he suddenly vanished. I stopped walking and looked around, trying to see where he went.

“Mewtwo?” I asked, looking around.

_Somebody is watching us,_ I heard him say.

I gasped and froze, kicking myself for having just said his name like that. _What should I do?_ I thought, terrified.

_Keep walking, pretend you are alone._

_Okay._

I started walking forward again, barely making a sound.

_Act normal! Are you even breathing?_

 _It’s kind of hard to do that now that I know I’m being watched!_ I retorted.

“Hey, miss!”

I stiffened and turned around to look at who had addressed me. The speaker was a woman with straight blonde hair and brown eyes. Pink triangle earrings dangled from her ears, and she wore what looked like an expensive camera around her neck. In her right hand was a Pokénav that looked oddly familiar.

“I found this back in the park. Does it belong to you?”

I checked the contents of my duffel bag and panicked, even more, when I saw that it was missing.

“You look like you just saw a ghost, no wonder why you dropped it!” she laughed, handing the device back to me.

I quickly took it and stowed it back in my bag, trying to regain control over my face.

“Sorry ma’am,” I laughed, “I just had a run-in with a tough Pokémon. I caught it, but it took me be surprise so I’m still jumpy.”

Her eyes widened slightly, “A tough Pokémon? Here? Oh, will you show me?”

She held up her camera with a big smile on her face, “I want to take a photo for my nephew! He loves Pokémon, after all!”

“Ah, you mean m-my Tauros? Sure!”

I took out his Safari Ball and released Tauros in front of me. He blinked in confusion, then grunted and started munching on the grass near his feet.

“Oh, my! A real Tauros!” she exclaimed in excitement.

The woman took some photos, seemingly barely able to contain her excitement the whole time.

“Well, I should really get going,” I said after she snapped a tenth photo.

“Oh right, so sorry,” she said, straightening up again.

Before I could turn to leave, she held out something else in her hand.

“You look like someone who has a lot of cool Pokémon!” she said excitedly, “If you have any more that you want me to photograph, I’m just a text away.”

I looked at the paper between her fingers and saw that it was a business card. I took it and saw that it read:

Cassidy Yamato

Professional Photographer

On the Hunt to Photograph Rare Pokémon!

010-XXX-XXXX

“Right, I’ll remember that." I glanced at the business card before stowing it in my back pocket.

She waved goodbye and I withdrew Tauros before walking out of the Safari Zone as quickly as my legs would allow.


	14. Out of the Woods

When I knew I was out of her sight, I ran the rest of the way through the Safari Zone and out the exit where the receptionist was waiting.

“Oh, you're back so soon! Did you catch anything?” she asked cheerily.

“Yeah, thank you!” I said breathlessly, practically throwing the remaining Safari Balls on the counter and jogging toward the front door.

I burst out into the afternoon sun and leaned on the nearest potted plant, gasping for breath.

“Wait . . . are you here?” I asked aloud.

_Yes, right in front of you._

“Oh good,” I said, still trying to get air back inside my lungs.

_We are not out of the woods yet . . . well, metaphorically speaking,_ Mewtwo said cautiously, _she could have done something to your Pokénav._

“What?! How would she—”

_She claimed to have found it, right? And you believed her?_

“Well, maybe she . . . I mean . . . I guess I could have dropped it . . .”

I sighed, quickly realizing he was right. She could have somehow gotten it while we were dealing with the Tauros.

_We cannot go to your house with that device until I inspect it._

“Inspect it? With what?” I asked.

_Come over behind this Lapras,_ Mewtwo said.

“Where’s the . . . oh, okay.”

I ran over to the small lake where the Lapras that belonged to the Safari Zone’s small rehabilitation center was lazing about happily in the water.

_Take out your Pokénav and put it on the ground._

I did as he said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. I pretended that it was my first time seeing a Lapras by squealing with excitement.

_Find anything?_ I asked him while trying to get the Lapras’ attention.

There was another moment before he responded with, _No, I cannot find any technology she might have added to track you. But I am almost certain that she saw me, so she must have done something . . ._

I was still looking at the Lapras as he spoke when suddenly the acrid smell of melting plastic hit my nose. “What the . . .”

I looked over to my Pokénav and saw that it was in flames. “What are you doing?! Those are expensive!” I practically shouted at the empty air.

_This is a precaution, we cannot afford to take any chances,_ Mewtwo said.

“You really couldn’t have thought of a better way to make sure?” I groaned, cupping some water from the lake in my hands to dump on the fire.

_Well, obviously_ _I had to make it look like an accident._

“A Pokénav bursting into flames?! How does that look like an accident? This is so unnecessary,” I muttered to myself.

“Miss, is there a problem over here?”

I looked up and saw that one of the staff working at the zoo had approached me, eyeing me and the burning Pokénav next to my feet.

“Oh, uhm . . . actually, yes!” 

I started laughing and indicated the Pokénav when I said, “My Pokénav here just burst into flames! I got so scared that it made me shout.”

“That’s concerning, I’d better get a Water-Type Pokémon over here,” he said, hurrying off to find help.

I looked at the Lapras a mere five feet away from me, then shrugged my shoulders.

“Lapras, can you put this out?” I asked. 

Lapras turned her head to look at me and blinked, then swam over and spat some water at the device. It shorted and stopped burning, reduced to a melted pile of plastic and metal.

_Do not pick that up, leave it where it is,_ Mewtwo said before I could bend down to retrieve it.

“I have to take it with me, Professor Oak isn’t just going to hand me a new one,” I sighed.

_It is not worth the risk. I can teleport us home now that you scared off the only person who was watching._

I felt his hand on my shoulder before the scene around us disappeared.

We arrived in front of my house again, and Mewtwo finally reappeared. I shot him a dirty look.

“You just _had_ to burn up my Pokénav, didn’t you?”

“While I could not detect any tracking device, it did not make sense. Why else would she have taken the Pokénav from you?”

“And then give me her business card . . .” I took the card out of my pocket and examined it, trying to figure out what it all meant.

“Let me see that,” Mewtwo said.

I showed him the card, which he looked at for all of one second before sighing and putting a hand to his face.

“What is it?” I asked, concerned.

“That was no photographer,” he muttered finally.

“Wait . . . you mean—”

“Yamato is an elite member of Team Rocket. I had never seen her in person prior to today, but I recognize the name.”

I gasped and dropped the card to the ground.

“I . . . I had no idea we were being followed—”

“Not out here, come inside,” Mewtwo said, grabbing my wrist and levitating the business card.

He opened the door and let me walk inside, then closed it behind us.

“This is my fault,” I whispered, sitting down on the couch, “I wasn’t . . . I should’ve been—”

“No, I should have remained invisible for the entirety of the outing,” Mewtwo said, lazily raising his hand and levitating before laying down on the other couch, “you were not at fault for this.”

“Do you think she knows where we are?” I asked, fear slowly making its way into my voice.

“Highly unlikely, since we teleported both to and from the Safari Zone today,” Mewtwo rationalized, “and we did not take your Pokénav back to this location. Even if she could track it after your encounter with her, it is certainly of no use to her now.”

I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself back together.

“She knows nothing of our location,” Mewtwo said again, “we can remain here. For now, at least.”

“If you really think so, then I won’t worry. But, what do I do with this?” I held the business card between my fingers.

“I can incinerate that as well, if you want me to,” Mewtwo said, his eyes flashing. 

“No, you pyro! I’ll just throw it out myself.”

I ran over to the kitchen and threw out the paper card. As soon as I closed the lid of the garbage can, there was a sharp knock on the door.

I practically jumped out of my skin in surprise, then heard Mewtwo call back “Ash is here,” and relaxed.

“You can let him in, then,” I said, washing my hands at the sink.

I heard the door open and the sound of Ash walking inside.

“Where’s Lilly?” he asked, his voice strangely serious.

“I’ll be right there! And take off your shoes!”

I ran back over from the kitchen and came to a stop by the front door where he was. I was startled by his mildly worried expression.

“Where have you been? I’ve been texting you for an hour, but none of the messages have been delivered!”

“Er . . . sorry about that,” I said sheepishly, “We kind of had an accident.”

“An accident?”

“A member of Team Rocket was following Lilly and me around the Safari Zone today,” Mewtwo chimed in, getting up from the couch to explain, “I thought it was possible that she planted a tracking device on Lilly’s Pokénav, so I did the sensible thing and melted it down.”

Ash stared at us for a brief moment before letting out a sigh and saying, “I’m glad you guys are okay, but you knew being in a public park would be risky, right?”

“This wasn’t supposed to be public, Ash. We were just going to the Safari Zone. I didn’t think there would be a lot of people in there on a Tuesday afternoon, especially not a member of Team Rocket,” I said defensively.

“This was your idea?” Ash asked, shocked.

“Yes, I wanted him to see the Safari Zone,” I said confidently, “he hadn’t seen it before.”

“Lilly, I really thought you were more careful than this. Team Rocket already knows that he’s in Kanto, of course they’re going to have spies everywhere looking for him,” Ash protested.

“Listen Ash, I can’t keep him in my house until this whole thing blows over. He should be outside, too!”

“Both of you, stop.”

We both jumped and turned to look at Mewtwo at the same time, who was staring at us calmly.

“You are right, Lilly and I were not as careful as we could have been today. However, I also think that we made the best possible decisions given the situation. Now we know to be warier the next time we go out in the daylight.”

Ash scoffed, “The next time? There won’t be a 'next time,' right?”

There was a moment of silence before anybody said anything.

“For once, I agree with Lilly,” Mewtwo said finally.

“Mewtwo, not you too,” Ash groaned.

“While it would be ideal for me to stay in the house for the duration of this plan,” he continued, “it is simply not realistic. I would be . . . what was the saying your mother used that time . . . oh!”

Mewtwo put one fist in his open palm when he said, “Bored to dears, was it?”

_Bored to tears, but close enough,_ I thought to him.

I saw that Ash was about to retort, but he stopped himself and took a deep breath.

“I will be more careful next time,” Mewtwo added, trying to reassure Ash.

“I know, it’s just . . . if anything happens to Lilly—”

“Wait, me?” I asked, surprised, “Why are you worried about me?”

“If they go after Mewtwo, he can teleport out of there. You _can’t_ run, and they’ll be mad at you for hiding him. And I don’t know what they’ll do to you.”

“Ash, it’s not like they’d—”

“Lilly, listen,” he interrupted, putting a hand on my shoulder, “it was one thing when you were some trainer just trying to stop them from getting the Masterball, but this . . . they won’t hold back over this, and . . .”

Ash’s voice started to crack a bit and his hand began to shake when he said, “It-it’ll be my fault, you know?”

I pursed my lips together, finally understanding what he was saying.

“Ash,” I said, putting my own hand on his shoulder, “don’t worry. We’ll be extra careful from now on.”

“You promise?” he asked, looking at me.

“Yes, of course. I don’t want to put either of us in danger!”

He smiled and wiped his left eye, then looked at me and asked, “Want me to come with you to get a new Pokénav?”

“Oh, yeah," I sighed, starting back toward the front door. "I should probably do that today."


	15. Boiling Over

“Think fast!”

I whipped the jar of tomato berry sauce down the aisle, expecting it to levitate. What I did not expect was for it to smash to the floor and send sauce flying everywhere.

I stood there for a moment with my jaw hung open in horror.

“I cannot believe you just . . . let that happen,” I whispered weakly.

_Did you want me to make the jar levitate? I thought we were trying to be more careful,_ Mewtwo said, but I could tell that he was trying his hardest to hold in his laughter.

It had been about two weeks since the Safari Zone incident. For the first few days, I could not sleep through the night because I was having nightmares, afraid that Team Rocket was going to show up. But when nothing happened on even the third day, I decided that they must have lost our trail.

“You could have done it discreetly, you jerk!” I hissed, putting my face in my hands.

_Hopefully, that was discreet enough._

I looked up again with tears in my eyes and almost gasped; the mess was nowhere in sight. Though the jar was cracked all over, all of its contents were back inside as if it had never been hurled to the floor by some idiot.

An employee suddenly appeared at the end of the aisle, looking sweaty and overworked.

“Did something just fall? I thought I heard a crash,” she asked.

“Yes, but it didn’t break,” I said, pointing to the jar with my shoe.

She sighed and walked over to the jar, picked it up to inspect it, then said, “Well, that’s lucky. Must have just fallen the right way.”

“Sorry about that, ma’am,” I said, trying to look apologetic.

“No worries! Please enjoy your day,” she said, still examining the jar as she walked off.

I sighed with relief and went back to pulling tomato berry sauce jars off the shelf.

“I wish we didn’t have to hide you all the time,” I said finally as I headed toward the register in the front of the market.

_Why? So you can entertain the masses with my magic tricks?_ Mewtwo asked sarcastically.

“What? No, just so I can stop being careful.”

_Wait, so_ you _can stop being careful? You are not the one who has to be invisible all the time,_ he griped, _I am doing all the work. All you have to do is act as if I do not exist._

“Well, I don’t like doing that,” I said, speaking quietly as I got in line to check out.

“And you don’t have to come with me on all my errands, you know,”

_I am aware, but I have never been inside of a food store. Did you know that most of these things are not even considered sustainable for the human diet? Why would anybody make food that kills them?_

 _Your guess is as good as mine,_ I said to him as I placed the jars on the conveyer belt.

We left the store with the jars in a paper bag. The bag was a little heavy, but it was only about a ten-minute walk back to my house. On the way there, I messaged Ash on my Pokénav inviting him and his mother to dinner at my house.  
  


**You guys should come over for dinner tonight.**

**I’ll be making spaghetti!**

**Love, Lilly.**  
  


_Why would you text him only after purchasing the necessary ingredients to make the meal? How can you be so certain they are available?_ Mewtwo asked curiously.

“Oh, they’ll come,” I said confidently, “Ash’s mom never says no to an invite, she loves me.”

After arriving back in the house, I finally set the groceries on the counter and groaned as I stretched my arms back. Mewtwo reappeared and did the same.

“I know you’re making fun of me,” I said, eyeing him.

“Me? Make fun of you?” he asked, pretending to be offended as he straightened up again.

“Oh no,” I said dramatically, “it looks like you’re picking up on my humor!”

“It was only a matter of time. Someone needs to give you a taste of your own medicine,” he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and bent down to pull out a glass bowl from the cabinet.

“Hey, want to help me make it?” I asked, looking toward Mewtwo again.

“Make what?”

“Dinner!”

Mewtwo thought about it for a second, then said, “I have never cooked before, but I can try.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything you need to know!”

Eager to start, I quickly turned to get a pot out of the cabinet and slipped on the hardwood floor. I would have fallen flat on my face if Mewtwo hadn’t levitated me again. He came by my side, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Can you at least make an effort to stay on your feet? This is the seventh time you have stumbled this week alone.”

“Please don’t keep track,” I groaned as he carefully set me down again.

“Are you curious to know the grand total? It makes me wonder what you did before I came along,” he said as we walked toward the kitchen.

“Well, sometimes my Pokémon would catch me,” I laughed.

I placed all the other ingredients on the island and looked at him, my face suddenly serious.

“Alright, you did pretty well last time with boiling the water, so I’m promoting you from a novice chef to a rookie.”

“What an honor,” Mewtwo replied dryly. 

“You’re welcome. And all you have to do is heat up that jar of sauce.”

I straightened up again and put a second bowl on the counter, continuing, “You can just put it in this bowl, and stick it in the microwave over there for a minute. Keep an eye on it, make sure it doesn’t splatter everywhere. Can you handle it?”

“Take the jar, put it in the bowl, put it in the microwave. This is absolutely beneath my level,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Just do it, it’s part of your master chef training!” I insisted.

While he was taking care of that, I took a large steel pot from the cabinet, filled it with water, and turned on the burner so it could boil. Then I started on the dinner that my Pokémon would be eating.

Suddenly, there was a loud crackling sound coming from behind. I turned my head and gasped when I saw that Mewtwo had put the entire jar, metal lid and all, in the bowl and put it in the microwave.

And to make matters worse, he was nowhere in sight.

I ran over to the microwave and saw electric sparks flaring up inside. The bright flashes rooted me to the spot in fear, not sure what to do. Then the entire thing burst into flame. I screamed just as Mewtwo reappeared and the microwave vanished.

I let out a huge sigh and leaned on the counter for support. There was a moment where nobody said anything; I finally broke the silence by asking, “What did you do?”

“It would appear as though metal is not to be placed in the microwave device. That was certainly going to burn down your kitchen, so I got rid of it,” Mewtwo said nonchalantly.

“I can see that much, but where’s the microwave?” I said, acknowledging the empty space where the microwave used to be by pointing at it.

“I sent it to Jupiter.”

“You sent my Aunt’s microwave to _Jupiter_?” I asked, my eyes bugging out of my head.

“Yes. It will not be able to hurt you there.”

“Mewtwo,” I groaned, “she’s gonna absolutely murder me.”

“. . . Did you want me to leave it here?” he asked irritably.

“I mean, no, but—”

Suddenly, the microwave slammed loudly onto the counter again, making me jump in surprise. It didn’t look anything like a microwave at this point; it had been turned into a smoking pile of scrap metal.

“Mewtwo, you didn’t—”

“I just saved you and your kitchen. And that is how you thank me?” he growled.

“Calm down!” I said, putting my hands up defensively, “I wasn’t angry at you, I was just confused.”

“Hmph,” he said, folding his arms over his chest, his forehead still creased.

I had forgotten how personally Mewtwo took ‘finger-pointing’. As those sorts of thoughts began to fill my head Mewtwo turned away from my gaze but made no comment.

“Mewtwo, I—”

“I apologize,” he said quietly, his back still turned to me, “for getting carried away just now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said quickly, “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for trying to protect us. Microwaves are more replaceable than the kitchen, or . . . me.”

Slowly, he turned around again, looked at me strangely.

“But now I don’t have sauce for the spaghetti!” I laughed nervously.

He stared at me for a moment longer, then shook his head.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” he murmured, avoiding eye contact.

Then he looked toward the stove and said, “I believe the water is at the correct temperature.”

I followed his gaze and saw that he was right; the water was boiling rapidly in the huge pot. I walked toward the stove and gingerly poured the open two boxes of spaghetti into it. I heard Mewtwo levitate, the floorboards creaked when he lifted, and say, “I will get you another jar of sauce.”

“No, it’s al—”

I heard three jars of tomato berry sauce land lightly on the counter before I could even finish my sentence. By the time I turned to look back at him he had already retreated upstairs. I knew he went upstairs because I heard him smack his head on the door frame for the umpteenth time and start cursing it. I laughed to myself, then continued to make dinner for my Pokémon.

_By the way, Ash and his mother will be here soon_ , Mewtwo’s voice sounded.

I hurried over to check my Pokénav. Sure enough, a message came at 6:00:

**Sounds good, we’ll be over in half an hour!**

_Thanks for the notice_ , I thought back to him, putting it back on the counter once more. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:25.

_Yikes!_

“Mewtwo! Get back down here and help me, they’ll be here any minute now!” I shouted upstairs.

“Shouting is not necessary, we were just communicating a second ago without it,” he called back.

I rolled my eyes.

“Less talking, more helping!”


	16. The Dinner

Ash, his mother, and Pikachu rang the doorbell at 6:32 pm on the dot. “Fashionably late, I see.” I smiled, opening the door for them.

“We try,” Ash’s mother smiled.

“Pika-pii!” Pikachu laughed.

“Hi, Lilly!” He was carrying a basket. “What did you bring this time?” I asked as we walked into the kitchen. “These are biscuits for the spaghetti, my mom made them!”

“Oh good, the best kind!” I exclaimed.

“PiiiiiKA!” “ _Mine too_!” Pikachu squealed.

The table was set and ready. I took the food that my Pokémon would be eating and brought it outside to them. When I offered them some of the spaghetti, they all shook their heads in disdain except for Arbok. I left some for her and went to rejoin my guests inside.

Everyone was waiting near the table, but Mewtwo had already sat down. His expression did not change, but an empty chair next to him pulled out by itself. Mildly surprised, I sat down next to him, Ash sat across from me, his Mom at the head, and Pikachu next to Ash. A few seconds after I had sat down, I realized that I forgot to bring out a serving spoon. “I got it,” Mewtwo said without missing a beat.

“Got what?” Ash asked.

All of the noodles lifted out of the bowl, separated into five individual spheres, and gently landed on each of our plates. Then moo-moo milk was poured in our glasses, too. I took a sip and said, “Thank you, Mewtwo!”

_You are welcome_

I giggled in response. Ash snorted quietly, and Mewtwo’s eyes widened. Over the next few minutes, they seem to have gotten into a silent argument because Ash’s face would tense up during unexpected moments. Mewtwo, however, was an expert at hiding what was going on in his own head. His face remained passive as he took a mouthful of spaghetti. Ash’s mother and I watched in amused fascination before she sighed loudly and began talking to me.

“Lilly, dear, tell us what you and your Pokémon have been up to lately,” she said before eating a mouthful of spaghetti.

“Well, we’ve been doing a lot of training on the Isles since they’re hotspots for tough Pokémon. Before Mewtwo got here, we would go to the Elite Four almost every day because we can earn a lot of money from battling the trainers there. But bringing Mewtwo with us now would be a bit too risky, it would probably not end well,” I said, remembering what I had done over the last few weeks.

“Risky for whom, exactly?” Mewtwo said suddenly.

His eyes flicked to me for a moment before locking back on Ash. It took me a moment to realize that he was still talking to me when he said, “Do not underestimate me. I may still be recovering, but I can take every single one of their Pokémon at once, by myself, with both hands tied behind my back.”

“Well, that wasn’t what I meant, but I’d actually like to see you try that,” I said, shooting him a sideways glace.

“Ash has been trying to fill up his Pokédex, as usual. Haven’t you Ash?”

Ash and Mewtwo were still very deep in whatever it was they were thinking about, because he didn’t respond.

“Ashton!” his mother said firmly.

“Huh?”

He dropped his fork, startled. I snorted with laughter. He shot me an annoyed glance as he picked it back up and asked, “What were you asking me, Mom?”

“Tell Lilly how you’ve been filling up your Pokédex,” she said, getting up and gesturing toward me.

“I have to use the washroom.”

Mrs. Ketchum swiftly walked down the hall, her plate completely empty. It levitated suddenly and flew over to the sink.

“Well,” Ash sat up straighter, “I’ve been keeping you updated for the most part, but lately I’ve been doing some traveling around here and gathering a lot of data on Pokémon. Plus beating a lot of trainers, but you knew all that already.”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing a little of that, too. But I like battling more than . . .”

I didn’t bother finishing my sentence; not even two seconds had passed and I could see that he was already back in his wordless debate with Mewtwo, who was sitting calmly eating his spaghetti as if nothing was happening.

“All right, what are you two morons arguing about?” I demanded, putting down my fork with slightly more force than necessary.

“Talking? I have not said a word,” Mewtwo said innocently, his mouth full of spaghetti.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know. Ash is making it really obvious,” I said before imitating the multitude of expressions he had made.

Ash’s face reddened slightly, then he said, “It’s nothing important, sorry.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably the worst liar I know. And that’s coming from me,” I sighed.

I saw Mewtwo nod in agreement out of the corner of my eye and had to resist shooting him a look.

“Lilly, we’ll talk later,” he said through his teeth.

Mewtwo rolled his eyes. I sighed and slumped into my chair. Pikachu looked at the both of us, then nibbled on a biscuit. It was fun to watch him eat all the edges first, then go for the middle.

“Well anyway, I have some news,” Ash continued, clearly trying to change the subject.

“Oh? What kind of news?”

I noticed that he glanced at Mewtwo before looking back at me and saying, “I’m finally going to the Hoenn Region.”

I practically knocked over my glass of milk when I sat up and said, “Huh? Hoenn?”

“Yeah, it turns out there are a lot more Pokémon then I expected, and some of the ones I can’t find here are in the Hoenn Region. That’s the place you came from, right?”

My eyes lit up with excitement as I responded, “Yes, that’s my hometown! It’s where I got my first Pokémon and everything. So you’re gonna go there?”

“Yeah. People are saying it’s a great destination if you like to swim,” he smirked.

“They’re definitely right about that,” I laughed, “Hoenn’s got the most water routes out of any nation. And there are some really nice beaches, too.”

“So I was wondering . . . maybe you’d want to tag along with me? It would be great to meet some of the trainers you know,” Ash looked at me hopefully.

I sat back on the chair again, not really knowing how to respond. I knew that I loved the Hoenn Region and that I would normally jump at any excuse to go back and visit. But the timing felt off, I didn’t feel ready to leave Kanto yet.

“It would be easier to hide Mewtwo; the Rockets wouldn’t think to look there for him,” Ash added encouragingly.

He had a point. But something kept me from saying ‘yes’.

“I . . . can’t,” I said hesitantly.

“Can’t? Why not?”

“I can’t leave Kanto yet. There's still more that needs to be done here.”

Ash raised an eyebrow when he replied, “Lilly, what haven’t you done? You beat the Pokémon League, Indigo Plateau, and you’ve seen nearly every kind of Pokémon there is to see here. Aren't you bored by now?”

“I . . . I just don’t feel right about leaving here all of a sudden. Ash, you know I’d love more than anything to go back to Hoenn with you. I would love to introduce you to my homeland! But I feel like there’s still more for my team and I to do here before moving on. You can understand that, can’t you?” I asked anxiously.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Maybe when I’m ready, I’ll come and join you. I’m sure you’ll still be there,” I said eagerly.

“I guess that’d be good . . .”

“When are you going?”

“I leave in a week.”

I gasped in surprise, “Really? That’s so soon! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“What can I say? I go where the wind takes me,” he said, doing his best to sound suave.

I thought for a moment, then tapped the table with my hand in excitement.

“Ash! Maybe Mewtwo could come with you! He’d be much safer with you there than here, wouldn’t he?”

Mewtwo inhaled sharply and sat up straighter at those words, causing him to choke on whatever food was in his mouth.

“Are you alright?” I asked, turning to look at him.

“Absolutely . . . not,” Mewtwo choked out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ash grin smugly.

I began to get up from my seat as I asked, “Do you need some water? You’re not actually choking, right?”

“No, what I mean is,” Mewtwo began, clearing his throat again, “it would be a horrible idea. Team Rocket would think that I fled Kanto if they had not found me in Cerulean Cave; they anticipate my actions better than I previously thought. Therefore, they would probably look in other nations, such as Hoenn.”

“So . . . you’re saying that you’d be safer . . . here? Where their headquarters is?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Precisely,” he said, relaxing his back against the chair once more.

I shrugged and took one last bite of my biscuit. As soon as I finished, every plate flew to the sink and began washing themselves with soap and water. Mewtwo was hardly paying attention to them as he sat there eating his fill of spaghetti. I had to do a double-take to make sure I was seeing his mouth covered in sauce.

“Mewtwo, how many plates of spaghetti have you had?” I laughed.

“This would be my third one,” he said, taking another bite. 

“I think this is the most I’ve ever seen you eat!”

He shrugged and finished off what was left on the plate, then sent it over to the sink with the others. I assumed that he knew there was spaghetti sauce all over his mouth, but from the way he was beginning to put leftover food back in the refrigerator, I realized that perhaps he was unaware.

“Hold on a second,” I said, grabbing a napkin and walking after him.

He turned around and I began wiping the sauce that stained his white skin. Startled, he blinked and started licking the sauce off his mouth with a small pink tongue. I had never seen his tongue before; it looked just like Pikachu’s. It was so unexpected that I laughed. He chuckled, too.

“Pika!”

Ash abruptly stood up and said, “Lilly, can we talk for a bit?”

“Ash . . .” Mewtwo started, but he could hardly speak because I was still wiping his face.

“Please?” he interrupted.

“What’s so important that we can’t discuss it here?” I asked, turning back to Ash.

“I’ll tell you when we get there,” Ash said, grabbing my arm and heading toward the door.

“Ash, is this absolutely necessary right now?” Mewtwo asked, following us.

He stopped short and looked back at Mewtwo.

“Aw come on Mewtwo! Of course it is!”

“No, it is not,” he insisted, lowering his voice.

“I wish you two would tell me what you’re talking about!” I said angrily and stopped walking.

Both of them stopped and looked at me. I must have been glaring, because Mewtwo took a step back and said, “I am going out for a bit. I will return in fifteen minutes exactly. Stay in the house and take no longer than that.”

Ash looked very surprised, but I immediately reacted.

“Are you crazy? Do you want the Rockets to find you? You can’t go out on your own in broad daylight.”

“I have previously stated that they probably will not be in Kanto.”

I gave him my strongest pout and said, “It’s not like they all would just _leave_ Kanto, I’m sure some of them are still here!”

He sighed and said, “If you would like I can check—”

“No,” I said quickly.

“Alright," he replied, the slightest of smiles cracking on his face, “then I will return shortly.”

And with that, he was out the door. I ambled over to the recliner and sat down with a big sigh. Ash sat on the couch. Pikachu ran over from his chair and jumped on the couch next to Ash. Just then, Ash’s mom walked back down the hallway and sat next to her son. He began to look uncomfortable as he said, “Mom, could you go home?”

“Ashton Ketchum, don’t be rude to your mother!” she said sternly, joining her son on the couch.

“But Mom—”

“Why can’t I sit here with you and Lilly?”

“Because we need to talk about something and we only have . . .” he looked back at the kitchen at the digital clock on the stove, “thirteen minutes to do it!”

“Well I’m sure whatever it is you want to talk about, you can do it in front of me!” she protested, folding her hands in her lap as she said that.

“Mom, come on, this is important!” Ash whined.

His mom bit her lip but rose from the couch. “Be home by eight o’clock, Ash!”, and walked out the door. Ash sighed and laid his head back on the couch.

“So,” I said, sitting on the recliner, “what’s so important that you made Mewtwo leave?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet,” Ash began, “but you’re the person Mewtwo cares most about.”

I disguised my surprised reaction by coughing violently.

“ _This_ was what you two were talking about at dinner? I’ve been telling you, Mewtwo and I are just civil to each other! He . . . he doesn’t actually care that much about me, he made that very clear—”

“So then why hasn’t he left yet?” Ash interrupted.

“I mean, he’s not completely healed. Also, I really think that there are still Rockets out here looking for him,” I said calmly.

“He definitely is completely healed; he just hasn’t needed to use his full powers around you so you wouldn’t notice.”

“Well, even if he is completely healed, the fact that Team Rocket is still on high alert is good enough reason for me to let him stay until they settle down. But that doesn’t mean he wants to stay here because he cares about me or whatever,” I shot back.

“Then, why didn’t he want to come with me to Hoenn?” he asked.

“Wait, what?”

“If he really wanted to leave, he would have jumped at the chance to come with me to Hoenn. I was going to ask him next, but you did it for me, and he didn’t take the opportunity. Besides, you and I both know there’s no Team Rocket in the Hoenn Region.”

I thought about that for a minute.

“But, didn’t he just say that the Rockets would—”

“Lilly, we all know he used that to cover up the real reason why he wanted to stay here.” Ash laughed.

I frowned slightly and said, “I don’t know what you mean, but he doesn’t want to stay here because of me. We’re not together all the time, you know. Sometimes he’ll go out at night when I’m asleep. Or he’ll stay here when my team and I are out training.”

“Yeah, but most of the time he’s with you, isn’t he?”

“What’s your point, Ash?” I looked away.

“Aw, why don’t you just admit it!” he threw his hands up.

“Admit what? Just spit it out already,” my eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. 

“You love Mewtwo!”

My face turned as red as a cheri berry.

“I . . . I do not!”

“Yes, you do!” he retorted.

“I-I already told you, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind leaving me any day, and I would be completely fine with it. He can leave right now, for all I care!”

“That has nothing to do with how you love him!”

“But I don’t, though!”

“Oh yeah? Prove it!”

“You’re acting like a giant baby!” I said stubbornly, still unable to look at him.

Just then, Mewtwo appeared in the living room. I flinched violently in surprise.

“That is enough out of you, Ash,” he said, stepping further into the room.

Ash stood up but did not move toward the door.

“That was _not_ fifteen minutes!” he cried in protest.

“No, but I think you have said plenty to Lilly for today,” he said more curtly, glancing once at the door and back to Ash.

Grumbling to himself, Ash made his way for the door with Pikachu at his heels, “It’s time for me to leave, anyway. See ya later Lilly, thanks for dinner!”

“Yeah, see ya later,” I said, relaxing on the chair once more.

And with that, Ash walked out the front door with Pikachu on his shoulder. Thought I was annoyed at him, I really didn’t want him to leave me alone with Mewtwo, who came over and stood next to the coffee table. There was a moment of awkward silence before he asked, “So, what did you two discuss?”

I gave him a look.

“You mean, you really don’t know?”

“I kept my word. I went away where I could not listen to the conversation,” he said, looking out the window.

I knew he had to be lying. He made that clear when he said, “that’s quite enough, Ash.”

“I do not lie,” he said, hearing my thought.

“It was nothing important, as usual,” I shrugged. 

“Try me,” he insisted.

I sighed as I thought about how to put it into words.

“Well . . . it’s just . . . Ash thinks that you really care about me—”

“And? What did you say in reply?” he interrupted.

Surprised with his enthusiasm and his apparent lack of knowledge, I replied, “I said that we . . . have an understanding and that you made it very clear to me that you would not be here for very long.”

As I was talking, his face seemed more taken aback with each word.

“An . . . understanding, you said?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t that what this has been from the beginning? Protecting you from Team Rocket until you’re healthy and they lose your trail?”

His gaze dropped to the floor. Then he looked at the ceiling and began scratching the back of his neck. He seemed to be deliberating something.

“We can’t all read minds, Mewtwo,” I said quietly.

Still looking away, he said, “Lilly, I think you have been overestimating my inability . . . or underestimating me, rather . . .”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed, getting up from the couch and beginning to pace before he continued, “Look, I . . . I said that I could not love, not that I cannot care at all. Before I met Ash, I was only interested in looking out for myself. I had absolutely no faith in humans after what Giovanni had put me through, but meeting Ash and people like him taught me that I am at least able to care. And Lilly, I . . . I know that I care about you,” he said, looking at me finally.

“While you are happy, I feel . . . I do not know how to describe it to you in a way that makes sense . . . I feel . . . light. And when you are upset, I want to help you. You really have not noticed?”

I was speechless. I just looked back at him, not knowing how to respond to anything that he was telling me.

He continued by saying, “You should also understand that Ash was right.”

“What was he right about?” I asked when he didn’t follow that up with anything.

“He was right when he said . . . you are the person I care most about.”

I blinked and dropped my gaze, trying not to show the tears in my eyes. He also looked away once more.

“Why does this information surprise you so much?” he sat down on the couch where Ash was just sitting, draping his tail over the arm.

“You . . . didn’t you say that you couldn’t feel attachment toward anything? I just . . . I mean . . . what changed?”

I was doing my best to maintain a passive attitude, but I couldn’t disguise the tightness in my throat when I responded.

“You, being a human, have more emotional capabilities than I do. In fact, with your added abilities, I can almost certainly say that you are even more capable than the average human.”

“You don’t know that,” I said, not liking where this was going.

“I understand you . . . care more for me than I can for you.”

My face grew even hotter at those words.

“Mewtwo, it’s not like—” I began to protest.

“Lilly, please do not lie to me, I really can hear your thoughts at all times. You do . . . love me.”

Though he barely whispered the word I couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping my mouth.

“You wish I could experience the same emotion, do you not?”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel angry when he asked me that question.

“No, let me ask _you_ something,” I said, still not looking him in the eye.

“Of course,” he responded.

The springs of the couch squeaked as he sat back down. I looked at him, though I could hardly see him through the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Wh- . . . why do you read my mind if you don’t want to hear it? What do _you_ care?”

To my surprise, he flinched when I said “you”. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

“Answer me,” I demanded, my voice cracking slightly.

There was a brief moment of stunned silence from Mewtwo before he looked me in the eyes again and said, “I do not underst—”

I cut him off. “Oh, now you don’t understand when I ask you directly?”

When he did not retort, I continued, “You understand everything perfectly well when you read my thoughts without my consent, but not when I ask you questions out loud?” I said, my voice rising with every word that I spoke.

I did not wait for Mewtwo to respond, I knew that it would be pointless.

“I don’t need you, or Ash, or anyone to repeat my thoughts for me! I can already hear them loud and clear in my own head every day!” I exclaimed, my voice finally breaking.

He still did not respond, but only looked at me with calm, violet eyes. After a moment, I finally felt a tear run down my face. I angrily brushed it off, looking away again. Looking at the ground, I quickly stood up from the recliner and muttered, “I’m going to my room” before hurrying as quickly as I could up the stairs.


	17. New Territory

Lilly dashed up the stairs without so much as a glance back at me. I watched her go, then waited for the sound of the door slamming shut behind her before I got to my feet and began to pace about the living room again.

I knew Lilly loved me. I also knew she wanted nothing more than for me to stay with her for as long as possible. And I was not lying when I said I cared about her; when she was happy, I was at peace. When she was troubled, I wanted to help make it right.

The reason that I was so direct with her was that I wanted to love her back. I wanted to experience the same emotions she was feeling for me at the time. But it was not something I could replicate within myself. I couldn’t even embrace her like I saw most humans do. To know that there was something that I could not do truly infuriated me at the time.

_I’m the strongest Pokémon in the world_ , I sat on the couch again and placed my arms across my body.

_I can fly. I can protect myself with psychic energy. I can create storms powerful enough to destroy this planet. I can go into outer space. I can read minds. And yet—_

A faint noise interrupted my racing thoughts. I straightened up and listened intently; it sounded as though someone was crying upstairs.

_Lilly?_

Wondering, I read her mind.

_Ash was right . . . I do rely too much on my Pokémon._

My heart seemed to sink as I continued to read her mind. After a moment, I refocused back into my own thoughts again, trying to figure out something that would remedy the situation. 

Without a solid plan in mind, I got to my feet, levitated, and drifted up the stairs; this time remembering to duck so I would not hit my head on the ceiling. I turned to go into Lilly’s Aunt’s room but did not expect the door to be closed, so I bumped my forehead anyway. I didn’t say anything, but I heard Lilly gasp on the other side of the wall. 

Rubbing my aching head, I asked, “May I come in?”

I heard her sniff once before replying with, “Mmhmm.”

I opened the door slowly and peeked inside. The room was dark but I could make out Lilly’s shape. She was lying on the furthest side of the bed, curled into a fetal position, and facing the wall so that I could not see her face.

I flicked on the light switch and walked toward her, the bed creaking as I sat on the edge with my back to her.

“Though I have seen some of the difficulties you face, I . . . will not pretend to know what the experience of living with Arceus is like for you,” I began, my voice soft, “But what I do understand is having these expectations thrown at you, without ever having asked for them in the first place.”

She did not ask what I meant by that, though I suppose she already understood. I took the liberty of explaining anyway.

“As you know, I was created to be a slave of Team Rocket, and I was not given a choice about it until I took matters into my own hands. But you . . . cannot choose to leave as I did. This is your burden to bear for . . . well, neither of us knows for how long, I suppose.”

Though she still did not say anything, I was beginning to feel a different kind of energy emanating from her as I spoke.

“What I am trying to say is, you cannot expect to take that on all by yourself. The only other humans who could have shared this burden with you, your parents, are not here. It is acceptable to rely on your Pokémon. And while I cannot be the one to be there for you . . .”

I paused, not sure how to phrase the next thing I wanted to say.

“Well . . . I suppose . . . you caring about me in that way is a nice change of pace. Most humans fear me, let alone voluntarily take me in and protect me. I want to express my gratitude.”

I waited patiently for her to reply, but she still did not say anything. I could tell that she did not know how to respond, so I did not hold it against her.

“Thank you . . . for saying that,” she said quietly, to my surprise.

“Oh . . . uh . . . you do not need to thank me. I am just saying what needed to be said.”

Lilly fell silent again. When I finally turned over my shoulder, I noticed the small picture frame on the nightstand near her side of the bed. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was a photograph of two people smiling; one of them was holding an infant that was clearly a younger Lilly.

Before she had time to protest, I levitated the frame and brought it to myself, studying the photo curiously. One of the people in the photo was a beautiful woman, the other a man with a grin stretched from ear to ear. The woman looked nothing like Lilly; she had brown hair and brown eyes. But the child had ebony hair, green eyes, and a big smile like the man.

“Is this your family?” I asked, not looking at her.

“Those are my parents,” she mumbled in reply.

I said nothing for a moment, studying the woman further.

“It’s the only photo I have of them, be careful,” she warned.

The only similarity I could pick out between the infant and the mother was perhaps the facial structure; otherwise, they appeared to have nothing in common.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have the appearance of your father?’ I asked, levitating the frame again and sending it back to her, “Almost like clones.”

“Every single time I meet someone who knew him,” she mumbled, taking the frame and placing it back on the nightstand.

I frowned slightly, realizing that my joke may have gone over her head.

“I didn’t know them for very long,” she continued, “but I still have a lot of memories of them. None of my other friends remember being babies, but I do. Must be part of this whole Arceus thing.”

“At least you have memories, but . . . I suppose it is more painful to remember, after all,” I admitted.

There was another pause. I stared at the striped wallpaper on the wall and started counting the lines, still not knowing what else to say to her. I felt the bed move slightly and sensed that Lilly had turned around; I felt her eyes looking at the chord supporting my skull.

“I know that you’ve never had a real family,” she began, “and I guess I haven’t either, but the one I made is fun to be part of. Not everybody gets along all the time, but we’re there for each other no matter what.”

“At least, that’s how it is with my Pokémon and all my friends,” she added quickly.

“I am familiar with that,” I replied, turning to look over my shoulder. Lilly was indeed on her side. Though her face was still wet, she had regained control over herself.

“The time I spent with you has shown me what it being part of a team might be like. The bonds you and your Pokémon share are the strongest I’ve ever seen, and I am comparing you to Ashton too.”

“Really?” Lilly asked.

“I do not tell lies,” I said, pulling my legs up on the bed and looking down at her.

That got a smile out of her.

“I love Kanto, but . . .”

Her eyes clouded with longing, “I really do miss Hoenn sometimes. My family and friends are there, I wish I could see them.”

She started pulling at a loose thread on the comforter before continuing, “You’ve already been to Hoenn, but . . . I’m kind of a local, so I could show you the cool parts of it. And you can show me the places that I haven’t been to yet, so it’s a win-win. Would that be okay?”

“Are you . . . asking me to go with you?”

She blushed slightly, but still responded with, “I know you said Team Rocket might be there looking for you, but I just meant once it’s safe—”

“I have no recollection of saying that, actually,” I said, purposely avoiding eye contact.

“Oh . . . but . . . when Ash—”

“If I am still with you when that time comes,” I leaned back on my elbows so my head was next to Lilly, “then yes, I will accompany you to the Hoenn Region.”

At those words, she looked up at me again, and the clouds outside seemed to part from the light coming off of her smile. I leaned against the headboard of the bed and looked out the window that was across the room. Lilly sat against it too. Her eyes were a little watery. Before I could add anything else to that statement, Lilly did something I was not expecting; she moved closer to me and wound her thin arms around my waist, pressing herself to my side and resting her head on my shoulder.

I inhaled sharply and froze on the spot, sitting up straighter.

“Lilly, what . . . what are you doing?” I managed to whisper after a second.

“Giving you a hug,” she replied, completely at ease.

“A . . . a hug?”

“Is that okay?”

“I . . . yes.”

It took me a minute to begin breathing shallowly again. My arms, rigidly pressed to my sides, relaxed a little; in time I regained feeling in the rest of my limbs as well. I frequently looked from the top of Lilly’s head to the window, my mind buzzing with confusion, unsure of how to respond to this sudden gesture of affection.

Though my brain was still short-circuiting, my body seemed to react on its own accord; I watched as I lifted my hand out of Lilly’s embrace and placed it on the back of her dark hair, relaxing against the headboard again as I did so. I absentmindedly sat there, unsure of what exactly was happening at the present.

Lilly’s grip began to slacken around me as time passed. Her breath became slow and deep. I gingerly took her arms in my hands and put them by her side, slid myself out from under her, then got off the bed and levitated toward the door, using telekinesis to shut the electrical lamp as I went. Before I shut the door, I stole another glance at Lilly, still feeling a bit numb.

“Good night,” I whispered, closing the door carefully.


	18. An Unwelcome Guest

Normally at the end of the day, I first see Lilly safely home before heading out on my own to some remote location for the evening. In the mornings I return the moment I sense Lilly waking up so she does not notice my absence. But one day, I decided to go to bed without leaving the house at all during the evening. Not much longer after Lilly headed upstairs to go to bed, I drifted to my room and stretched my limbs. Only after opening the windows did I finally settle on the bed. I laid there, listening to the wind whistle through the trees, enjoying the serenity.

_Perhaps,_ I thought to myself, _I will try to sleep tonight._ Though my injuries were, after two months, mostly healed by this point, I knew that my performance in battle could still be improved. I was anticipating the day when I would get to test my strength against the most powerful Pokémon in the universe, Arceus.

Just as my eyelids began to grow heavy, I heard a faint groan from the other room.

I opened my eyes again, intrigued by the sound. It grew in volume at first, but it died down again a few moments later.

I relaxed again, this time falling asleep.

Not even a moment had passed when I heard a shrill scream coming from Lilly’s room. I gasped and bolted upright when the scream grew into bawling.

I immediately teleported to her room and prepared a Psystrike attack, fully expecting someone to be there attacking her. Luckily, I stopped just in time when I saw Togekiss standing on tiptoe at Lilly’s bedside. He was crooning gently and grasping her face between his wings as Lilly pounded at him with her small fists, sobbing uncontrollably.

“What are you doing?!” I shouted loudly, dispelling the attack and rushing to the bedside next to Togekiss.

Togekiss squeaked in surprise and fell on his back, sprawled out on the floor like a dead bird Pokémon.

“I . . . I was just . . .” he gasped.

My vision turned blue as I levitated him and pinned his body to the wall.

“Why did you stop just now? Are you hurting her?!”

“What?! How dare you suggest that I would ever do such a thing! Let go of me this minute!” he cried out indignantly, struggling to free himself of my psychic power.

I released him and looked back at her. To my surprise, she was definitely still asleep. Although no one was touching her at that moment, Lilly began thrashing in bed as if she was being attacked, still crying.

“No!” she screamed repeatedly.

“What is wrong with her?!” I asked, bewildered by her behavior.

“Stop it! No!”

Togekiss levitated and landed on the edge of the bed, where he waddled toward Lilly’s head and started rocking her gently.

“Wake up, Lilly,” Togekiss said, his voice pained.

“Why is she screaming and thrashing like this?”

“She’s having a nightmare!” Togekiss shouted back.

“Does this happen every night?”

“Very often, but they are usually over by the time you return home.”

Togekiss started rocking her with both his wings as Lilly screamed louder.

“I don’t know why she won’t wake up,” he cried out, on the verge of tears himself, “she always does after this long!”

“Move aside, you are being far too gentle,” I said as I started to push him off of her, “I can do it faster.”

“No wait, Mewtwo!” Togekiss tried to warn me.

I levitated Togekiss off the bed and sat down next to her, pinning both of her arms down to stop them from flailing.

I quickly regretted that action.

“Aah!”

I stumbled back again and looked at my hands, bright pink from a burn.

“She burned my flesh!” I growled, glaring at Lilly for a moment.

Togekiss flew to my side and examined my hands while Lilly continued to bawl at the top of her lungs.

“Oh, it’s not bad!” he said dismissively.

“Why did she do that?” I asked as my hands already began to heal.

“She must be trying to protect herself!”

“From me? Even now?”

“No, from whatever is in her dream!”

We both turned to look at Lilly, who had stopped moving and curled into a ball as she cowered from her invisible assailant.

“Try it again, it looks as though she has calmed down somewhat,” Togekiss urged me.

“But—”

“You can do it! She trusts you, but you have to be gentle!”

He flew behind me and pushed me toward her.

“She trusts me?” I asked, mildly surprised.

“Yes, I know she won’t hurt you if you’re gentle!”

“Are you quite sure about this?” I asked, looking at Lilly uncertainly.

“Yes!” Togekiss insisted impatiently.

“Fine!”

I slowly turned around again and muttered, “But if I die because of this, it is on your . . . wings.”

Togekiss chirruped gratefully and quickly levitated out of the room.

I stood beside the bed, unsure of what to do first. Then I slowly reached out with my forefinger and touched the back of her head.

No pain yet.

I unfolded my other three fingers and gently caressed the top of her head.

“Wake up, Lilly,” I murmured in the gentlest voice I could muster, sliding my fingers over the smooth surface.

Lilly shuddered and turned toward me, her eyes opening slowly. I quickly withdrew my hand for fear of being burnt again. When she realized I was there, she gasped and quickly sat up in bed, staring at me like she saw a ghost. She reached out to touch me but retracted her hand again.

“Mewtwo?” she whispered.

“Yes?”

She reached out again, this time making contact with my shoulder.

“You’re alright?” she asked, her hand lingering for a moment.

“Why would I not be?”

Lilly’s hand balled up into a fist as she rested her arms on her knees. She sniffled and wiped her face with her arm.

“Are _you_ alright?” I asked.

“Uhm . . . yeah . . . I’m fine.”

She sniffed again, then looked at me and asked, “W-why are you in here? Did something happen?”

“I heard you screaming from my room. I simply came to confirm that you were not being murdered in cold blood,” I said in response.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“You . . . heard me?”

“Yes.”

“But how? I thought you go out at night.”

“Oh, I was not aware that you know,” I said, mildly surprised.

“Togekiss told me.”

“Well, I stayed home tonight,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Home?”

“I stayed in the house, yes.”

“Oh.”

Lilly relaxed against the headboard of the bed as she continued to stare at me, almost as if it was the first time she had ever seen me. I suddenly felt the overwhelming need to think of something to say to take her mind off of what had just occurred. But for the life of me, I could not think of anything to say except—

“So then . . . who was dying?” I blurted out suddenly.

She gasped in response, her eyes widening in shock at my question.

“Wh . . . what makes you think someone w-was dying?” she blubbered quietly.

_You already made her cry again, you absolute fool._

“No I . . . I just assumed that was what you dreamt about. I cannot imagine why else you would have screamed so loud. And you also asked if I was alright,” I added quickly.

“Oh . . . I asked that?”

“Yes.”

Lilly blinked slowly as she looked away for a moment.

“If it is too painful to discuss—” I started.

“No, it’s alright, I can tell you,” she sniffed.

I almost flinched when her gaze returned to me; her green eyes seemed so hollow.

“I dreamt of . . . Team Rocket,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You did?”

“Yeah. Five of them . . . barged into the house, attacked my Pokémon, and . . .”

She shuddered again, her face crumpling slightly, “and they . . . they killed you.”

My gut clenched tightly when she said that.

“The things they did . . . it was awful to watch.”

“These terrors . . . do they happen to you every night?”

“Not every night, but, often enough.”

She was on the verge of tears again; I could tell from the way she was sniffling.

“I d-don’t know how to make them stop, I guess I’m really worried. I don’t want them t- . . . to . . .”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but instead looked down at her knees and began picking at a frayed string on the sheets with her one hand, the other hand grasped her knee tightly. I sat down on the bed beside her as I watched her tear up the thread.

Then, I took the hand on her knee in both of mine and lightly pressed it to my chest. She looked up at me, utterly surprised.

“Lilly, what is this?”

She didn’t respond at first.

“That’s . . . your chest?” 

“One more guess.”

There was another pause.

“Your heart?”

“Yes. I am here because of you.”

I replaced her hand on her knee again.

“Despite the impression I may have given you at first, you saved my life when you found me that day. You are aware of that?”

She didn’t answer, only looked at my hand that was still resting on her knee.

I sighed.

“What I am saying is,” I continued, “you do not need to worry about Team Rocket as long as I am here. My injuries have mostly healed by this point, I can fight them off very easily if it comes to that. They will not be able to touch you, nor me, nor your Pokémon as long as I am here. You understand that as well, yes?”

She nodded again.

“I . . . promise.”

She looked at me, and I could see that tears were swimming in her eyes again.

“I promise that they will be safe. I will be safe. You have nothing to worry about. Alright?”

Holding back tears, she was only able to respond with a nod.

I reached around her and pulled her into my side, knowing that she was still going to cry despite having said those words to her.

“I — I’m . . .”

“Shh,” I interrupted, rubbing her shoulder, “you do not have to apologize.”

She was still trying to say something to me, but I could not understand what it was.

“I will stay until you are asleep,” I said over her attempts.

She stopped talking and just nodded, pressing her head into my shoulder. I stared down at the floor in front of me while she wept.

After about an hour had passed, her even breathing told me that she was finally asleep. I scooped her up and put her back under the covers, looking at her tear-streaked face and bed head for a minute before sitting in the chair that was next to the door.

_Just in case it happens again,_ I thought to myself, beginning to doze off.

A moment later, I heard the bed creak.

I opened my eyes and had to stifle a gasp; the little girl from my first night here was sitting across from me, looking at me curiously.

I levitated and clenched my fists, not liking how close she was to Lilly.

_Who are you? Why are you back again?_ I asked.

She silently stood up on the bed; this time it did not creak when she moved, and there was no indent under her feet from her bodyweight. I felt my eyes widen in fear.

_Don’t be afraid of me,_ she spoke telepathically, _I’m a friend._

 _I have very few friends, so I usually recognize them,_ I replied, not trusting her words.

She just looked at me for a moment, almost as if she was waiting for me to say something else. When I continued to glare at her, she finally broke eye contact and looked at the ground.

_You will someday, I just hope it’s for a good reason,_ she said with a sigh.

She gave me one last look, then turned on her heel and vanished into thin air.

I stared at the spot for a moment before resting back on the ground again.

_Perhaps . . . I just had my first dream,_ I thought to myself as I settled back into the chair behind me, finally drifting off into a deep slumber.


End file.
